Sonaze Generations: Prequel, The Furnace of the Heart
by CJ2018
Summary: Sonic the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat. An unlikely yet, oddly enough, functional couple. Fourteen long years have passed since the Great Metal Virus. Bonds have formed, heroes have been born, but evil has persisted... In this prequel to the upcoming Sonaze Generations main story, we will see just what happens when those very bonds and heroes and are tested to their absolute limits.
1. Spark

Sneakers flew across the tile floor of the castle at insane speeds. A streak of blue with red trailing behind soared passed several citizens, guards, and castle workers. They would've been startled by such a sight, had they not been so used to it by now…

The creature behind said blue streak was on a mission of utmost importance. Having been appointed by the queen herself to fetch only the finest cuisine in the land. They carried their cargo through the castle at the fastest possible speed, while still ensuring that no harm came to it. Through hallways, up flights of stairs, in but a few more seconds, the streak of blue reached their destination. Their red and white sneakers skidded across the floor, with their matching red cape ceasing its crazed fluttering and settling down behind them. Finally, they had made it, the queen and king's dining room. Proud of their speedy delivery, they flung open the door and proudly marched in, presenting their shipment.

"Someone order a meal fit for a Blaze, delivered in fifteen seconds or less or it's free?"

"Oh, there goes your daddy again. Making a flashy entrance as usual," a lavender cat in a pink turtleneck sweater and white leggings teased, faking a pout with folded arms as she talked down towards three babies, all lined up against a long, polished wooden table.

"Aw… don't say it like that. You've put up with it this long, so I must be doing something right," replied the blue figure as he walked up and set his delivery, in the form of two chili dogs, on a plate. "Plus Dash here seemed to like it," he smirked, gesturing to one of the high-chairs.

Carefree chuckles poured out of a blue hedgehog-cat half-breed occupying the chair as he clapped for his father's performance. Purple accents lined the tips of his quills, hair, and long tail.

"Alright, Sonic. Fair enough," Blaze conceded with a light smile, throwing up her hands in defense as she began sashaying her way across the dining room to greet her husband. She strolled past her three babies. A cat sharing hairstyle, fur, and eye color with her mother sat forward, giggling and playing with her food. Her high-chair read "Blaura" near the top of the seat back. A purple hedgehog with his father's eyes occupied a slightly larger seat. He sat mostly silent, poking at his food with plastic silverware. Their chair read "Sonash." The aforementioned blue hedgecat, Dash, had lost interest in his father, and was now back to splattering food on their tray with an almost mischievous chuckle.

In a flash, Sonic closed the rest of the distance, landing a surprise peck on Blaze's lips. The lavender cat jumped, clearly taken aback, but not at all upset by the gesture.

"C'mon dear. All these years and you're still letting me catch you by surprise?" Sonic lovingly taunted.

"Hey, not like many people can help being caught off guard by the fastest thing alive," Blaze retorted.

"Hm… That is true. Not many people can keep up with me," conceded Sonic with a playful smirk.

"Plus…"

With a rapid movement of her own, Blaze grabbed Sonic's arms and pulled him in for a more elongated smooch. Even the fastest thing was taken aback by such an out-of-character assault from his wife, not that it was an unwelcome one.

The two separated, with Blaze proceeding to finish her previous thought, warmly staring into her king's eyes. "All because I'm your reserved, elegant queen doesn't mean I'm not up for a few surprises."

Upon hearing a soft splatting sound, Sonic looked past his lover to see the mess that Dash was making of his tray. "Woah, there! Speaking of keeping up. Maybe we should sit down and enjoy our meal before our food gets cold and Dash turns his tray into a warzone!"

Blaze whipped around to see the mess that Sonic was referring to. Dash had scooped up a portion of his baby food and plopped it dead in the middle of his tray, proceeding to slap it with his hands repeatedly, splattering the green mixture on his face.

"No, Dash! What did mommy tell you about making messes?" Blaze scolded, pointing a stern, accusatory finger.

Sonic couldn't hold back a snicker.

"Sonic, we already have three children to raise. I can't have you joining in," Blaze said to her husband only half-seriously. "Help me get Dash cleaned up."

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. You're just so cute when you go into 'mommy mode," Sonic said through his dwindling chuckles.

"I am not, and I do not have a 'mommy mode!" Denied Blaze, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Yuh'huh," retorted Sonic. "Of course, not to say you aren't cute all the time, but…"

Any further playful bickering was halted by another slapping sound coming from Dash's direction. A stern reminder to the task at hand. "Oh, right…"

Sonic lived up to his name, speeding around Blaze and to a cupboard. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Dash's high-chair, on his knees with a paper towel in-hand.

Blaze strolled over to the table, sitting down at the end and smiling as she watched her husband clean and calm the mischievous infant.

"Now, Dash. I know you're just trying to have fun, but you can't be making messes like this. You know how that makes mommy and I feel," Sonic spoke delicately as he leaned in and carefully wiped Dash's face. The infant slammed their eyes shut, scrunching their face as the paper tower glided over their cheeks and mouth. Following that, he moved onto the tray. Making quick work of that mess as well. "There we are. Good as new!" Sonic said triumphantly, shooting up to a stand.

In another burst of speed, the soiled paper towel was deposited in a trash can, another plate was grabbed from the cupboard, and one of the chili dogs was moved onto the new plate. Sonic reappeared in a chair, with the aforementioned food in front of him. "Lunch is served, your highness," he said, finishing his performance.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, his royal kingliness," Blaze teased back, picking up her knife and fork.

"I still can't believe you eat chili dogs like that," the astonished king stated before going whole hog on his own chili dog.

"We've been over this before. I prefer not to risk getting my clothes dirty," Blaze responded plainly, popping a small bite into her mouth.

"Well, yeah, but that's half the experience!" Sonic protested after gulping down a large bite. "You can't eat something as messy as a chili dog and not chow down on it!"

"Hmph, I guess we really do have four children in the family," the smirking feline teased sarcastically. Sonic simply shrugged his shoulders and hummed in reply, his mouth being too full to actually respond. After another bite, Blaze continued. "Anyway, how was your meeting with Gardon and Marine this morning?"

Sonic ravenously swallowed his latest mouthful of chili and beef. "Oh, it was fine. Nothing outta' the ordinary. Patrols are doing fine, new recruits are showing promise, still no sign of discount Egghead…" he listed off, counting on his fingers as he went.

"Hmm... Still no reported activity from Nega," Blaze replied contemplatively. "That worries me more and more everyday."

Sonic froze in his tracks before the last mammoth bite of food could enter his mouth. He looked over at Blaze in confusion. "Huh? Why's that?"

"It's been over a year. He must be planning something big to go silent this long. We have to be ready for what he may throw at us," Blaze explained while Sonic took the opportunity to finish off his meal.

"Oh, relax," Sonic said nonchalantly with a dismissive hand gesture. "Maybe all those extra pounds finally caught up to him, or maybe he finally realized he can't beat us. Either way, I'm more than happy to keep adding onto my 'days without a failed Nega scheme' counter."

"I'm… not so sure," the pyrokinetic cat replied. "He's been at it this long, no reason for him to quit now."

Sonic shot up and ran his plate over to the sink, washing and drying it thoroughly before depositing it back into the cupboard and returning to his seat in seconds. "Eh. I'm sure it'll be fine…" the speedy monarch assured, leaning back in his chair casually. "What more could he possibly throw at us? I've conquered an interplanetary slave guild designed to power an evil theme park, a time eating monster, even the world getting turned into a jigsaw puzzle!"

"I don't know," Blaze conceded, staring down at her half-eaten hot dog. "I just get this feeling…"

"Mother's intuition. I get it," said the blue blur, ceasing his leaning and returning his gaze to his wife before continuing. "I'll tell ya' what. I've got an open schedule tomorrow, and I haven't run long distance in too long. If it'll make you feel better, I'll do some high-speed searching to see if I can find out what ol' Neghead is up to."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you Sonic," the unsettled queen responded.

"Hey. What else are high-speed husbands for?"

The two rulers' conversation was interrupted by the cries of an infant ringing throughout the room. They looked to find its source. The middle chair, Sonash. Moments later, a pungent, all-too-familiar odor entered the parents' noses.

"Ugh! I guess that's what else," Sonic nasally said, holding his nose with a look of disgust. "I'm on diaper duty today. You go ahead and finish up."

Blaze thanked Sonic as he zoomed behind Sonash's chair and scooped him up delicately. The father began his trek to the babies' room using a very rare, but necessary means of transportation given his delicate cargo. Walking.

Blaura and Dash didn't seem to notice or care about their brother and father's departure, their consistently present giggling continuing.

Blaze looked up from cutting the last bit of her chili dog and grinned happily at her two babies. "Aw… My cute widdle things…" she cooed in a parent-like voice about two octaves higher than normal. Her two children laughed in response. Or maybe that was what they were going to do either way.

With only herself and her two children occupying the room. Blaze swiftly finished her food and went to help Dash. Looking around cautiously, she bent down and carefully removed the spoon from his flailing hand. Grasping it in her own hand, she scooped up a small portion of baby food.

"Here comes the airplane…" she teased, still using her mommy voice as she playfully guided the food into Dash's awaiting mouth. "Good job! Who's my cute widdle Dashy?" the loving mother slowly leaned in, intending to plant a kiss on the little hedgecat's forehead.

"Uh… your highness?"

Blaze paused and looked up to see the source of the intrusion, a stubby koala with a blue shirt and fez. Her eyes shot open wide and she stumbled backward, barely catching herself with her hands. "Gah! Gardon, don't sneak up on me like that!" she commanded, frantically scrambling to her feet as her face turned a shade of red that would put Knuckles' fur to shame.

"O-oh, I'm sorry!" Gardon apologized, standing in the doorway that Sonic had left open.

Blaze elegantly set the spoon back on its tray, taking a deep breath and dusting herself off, allowing her blush to recede. "It's quite alright, Gardon…" she paused, her eyes focusing into a soul piercing glare before continuing. "But you saw nothing, understand?"

Gardon took an instinctive step back, his legs trembling in fear. "Y-yes, your highness!" he stammered.

"Good. Now, what brings you here? Has Nega finally decided to make a move?" Blaze asked, maintaining her serious tone.

Gardon breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he was in the clear. "Oh. No, nothing like that. You have a visitor!" he finished cheerfully.

Gardon's news was met with a raised eyebrow from the queen. "Visitor? Who?"

"Your good friend and ally, Miles 'Tails' Prower. He says he comes with urgent news regarding the safety of his majesty's home dimension."

"Hmm… A threat that warrants travelling across dimensions to enlist our help must indeed be a serious one," Blaze thought allowed with a hand resting on her chin contemplatively.

"Indeed so. Shall I send him to the throne room to await your arrival, then?" inquired the koala.

"Yes, thank you, Gardon," replied Blaze.

As Gardon saluted and turned to leave, Blaze stopped him one more time. "Also, we've talked about this before, Gardon. There's no need to refer to me as 'your highness' when we're without an audience. 'Queen Blaze' or just 'Blaze' is fine."

Gardon turned back around, scratching the back of his head. "Oh right, I forgot! My apologies, your hi- I mean… Queen Blaze," he finished with a nervous smile.

The small royal guardsman was met with an appreciative nod before turning to exit the room.

The door closed behind him, and Blaze stood still for a few moments, making sure the koala had indeed left. Once the coast was clear, she turned her attention back to her two babies, who'd been enjoying themselves without a care in the world. Taking one last look at the door, Blaze strode over to Blaura's chair and prepared to give her the same treatment as Dash.

"Aww… you want some help with that?" she teased in her motherly voice as she bent down and grabbed Blaura's spoon.

**XXXX**

"And here we are!" Gardon announced following the opening of the large door to the throne room.

The koala stepped in with another figure in-tow. A tall yellow fox with red sneakers, a matching checkered headband, and a leather belt and sash. Nothing out of the ordinary, if not for the usual one tail akin to most foxes being replaced by two, swishing passively behind him as he followed.

Miles had been in the throne room before, but somehow it still managed to captivate him every time. He looked around in wonder, enjoying the modernism that contrasted with the more classical external design of the palace. Marble pillars lined the perpendicular sides of the room, and a majestic purple and blue, gold-lined rug spanned almost the entire floor. On the ceiling, a pair of elegant chandeliers reflected beautiful rays of light across the room. All these details and countless others characteristic of a throne room of its size and stature continued to flood the fox's senses.

"The queen and king should be here shortly. I've notified them of your request, as well as its urgency," Gardon explained after stepping further forward and turning to face Miles.

"Thanks, Gardon. Nice to see you again, by the way!" the two-tailed fox replied.

"The pleasure is all mine, Doctor Prower," the royal guardsman formally insisted with a modest bow. "Any ally of the royal family is a friend of mine."

Miles chuckled at the utterance of his scholarly name. "Gardon, we're friends! Please don't feel the need to be so formal around me. Just 'Miles' is fine."

"Oh, of course!" The sheepish koala replied. "Well, 'Miles.' As I said, the queen and king will be here shortly. I have some duties to tend to elsewhere so feel free to make yourself at home."

"Thanks again, Gardon. See ya'round," the cheerful fox replied with a modest wave.

Mere seconds after the panda left and closed the door behind him, another door squeaked open. Miles watched the doorway on the left side of the far wall as two immediately recognizable figures strode out.

"Sonic, Blaze!" Miles exclaimed enthusiastically, running across the room to greet his long-time friends. He closed the distance in seconds, offering a hug to the blue blur. "How've you guys bee-"

"And you think that's an acceptable way to speak to a monarch?" Sonic said sternly, a serious expression painted across his face. "You will bow and show the proper respect."

Miles stiffened up, freezing wide-eyed at what his practical brother had just said to him. Had this much time spent as royalty really affected Sonic in such a way? More eerie seconds passed, Miles having no idea what to say in response. Should he bow and ask for forgiveness? Should he-

Miles' mental panicking was interrupted by an uncontrolled fit of laughter.

"Pfft! Haha, you should've seen your face!" Sonic whaled, not able to hold his stuck-up royalty impression for more than even a few seconds. "Oh boy… that was priceless!" He finished, holding his stomach and weakly pointing at Miles.

His nervous expression and posture melted away in realization. "Sonic! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He teased, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Blaze rolled her eyes with a smirk, even herself clearly being impressed by Sonic's short-lived performance.

Following a short hug and a little bit of casual catching up, Sonic and Blaze moved to their thrones, preparing to address the real reason for the vulpine's visit.

"So, Miles. I hear you come here with urgent news regarding your dimension's safety?" Blaze questioned.

"Lemme guess, round as a cannonball, doesn't know when to quit, starts with 'egg' and ends with 'head?" The nonchalant hedgehog scoffed before Miles could respond.

"Yep, you guessed it," the two-tailed inventor replied.

"What's his genius plan this time? Eggman Land Three? Time Eater round two, electric boogaloo?" Sonic jeered from his blue, gold accented seat.

"Not exactly…" Answered the fox, dawning a solemn expression and glancing down at the ground. "As you may know. Over these last few years, Eggman hasn't exactly been the type to play games like in the past. His plans have slowly become more sinister and to-the-point. In other words, he's stepped up his game."

"Oh?"

"He's developed a new technology, something he calls the 'Egg Drainer.' Capable of sucking the vitality out of any living thing, plant, animal, or otherwise, seemingly converting it directly into energy to fuel his Faceship Mach Three and his army."

"That does sound very serious," Blaze thought aloud before addressing Miles directly. "How many casualties have there been so far?"

"He's drained two small towns already. Estimated death toll is in the mid-three-hundreds, but it's hard to get an exact number because of how his weapon functions. It's like it vaporizes organic matter completely. The two towns he's fired on so far are almost indistinguishable from the old ruins of Wild Canyon. Everything's just… Gone…" Miles finished, hugging himself in discomfort.

"Man… Talk about 'stepping up his game…" Sonic trailed off, his voice devoid of his usual optimistic, cheerful tone. "What about the freedom fighters?"

"Shadow's been M.I.A. for the past few months, and Knuckles is convinced that it's some kind of ploy to lure him away from the Master Emerald, so he refuses to leave its side. The Chaotix, as well as Tangle and Whisper are willing to help, but without our two hardest hitters…"

"Yeah," Sonic replied blankly. "That's why you came here, then. You want Blaze and I to help take him out?"

Miles nodded, confirming Sonic's assumption. "Mhmm… I know you two've got a bunch of duties here, not to mention your children, but I really couldn't see an alternative. If it's too much to ask, though-"

"You kidding me? A chance to crush Egghead for old times' sake? I wouldn't miss out on that for the world, buddy!" Interrupted Sonic, who proceeded to turn to his wife. "How 'bout you, dear?"

Blaze sat in contemplation for a moment. "Hmm… It is true that our kingdom's well-being is very important, but this sounds like a very serious threat. One that may demand putting our duties on the backburner temporarily."

"So you'll help, then?" Miles beamed optimistically.

"Yes. I will contact Gardon and leave him in charge of watching Dash, Blaura, and Sonash," Blaze confirmed. "Will you be ready to leave on the hour, Sonic?"

"Ready? Remember who you're talking to, dear!" Replied Sonic with a confident smirk.

"Thanks so much. I'll be outside the southern gate when you guys are ready," Miles exclaimed.

As Miles turned to leave the room, his request fulfilled, Blaze tapped a small button on the armrest of her lavender throne. An electronic static was swiftly replaced by the voice of Blaze's most trusted royal official.

"Yes, Queen Blaze?" Gardon's attentive voice inquired from the other end of the line.

"Could you come here at your earliest convenience, please? Something urgent has surfaced, and I have an important task to assign to you."

"Oh, most certainly, my queen. I will be there shortly!" Replied Gardon, followed by a swift click.

**XXXX**

"So, you're sure you left detailed instructions in the kitchen?" The protective mother pressed as she walked hand-in-hand with her husband through the kingdom, a modest red leather bag hanging from her shoulder. Sonic had changed out of his royal attire and into a vest that matched his shoes, while his wife wore her same turtleneck sweater and signature white leggings.

"Yes, dear. It'll be fine…" Sonic insisted. "You know even better than I do that Gardon's the perfect man for this job. I wrote out the instructions and left em' on the table while you packed, just like you asked me to."

"Ok…" Replied Blaze, clearly lacking confidence.

"Honey, it's one day, and it's not like we're asking Gardon to defuse a bomb. It's just babysitting!" The caring spouse added in another attempt to calm his wife's nerves as their trip to the southern gate neared its conclusion. "Just take a deep breath, they'll be there tomorrow, waiting for you with their cute smiling faces. Then you can go into mommy mode all you want."

"I do not-" Blaze began before cutting herself off and smiling shyly, deciding to take her husband's playful teasing for what it was. "Thank you, Sonic. I'll try and relax."

"That's what I like to hear!" Sonic beamed.

The two parents continued their stroll, deciding to slow things down for a change. Their subjects happily waved and yelled to them as they passed, some wishing them well, and others thanking them for their work in bettering the kingdom. The couple neared the sizable kingdom gate. Sonic and the keeper, a mahogany bear, made eye contact, followed by a mutual nod of acknowledgement. A bell was rung, and shortly after, the gate began to open. Allowing the rulers out.

"Have a safe trip, my liege!" The masculine gatekeeper called out to his king.

Sonic's head swiveled back around to acknowledge his subject. He waved, thanking him.

The metal gate creaked shut behind them, accompanied by the clanking of chains. The couple glanced around, swiftly spotting their twin-tailed friend, leaning up against a tree a stone's throw away from the kingdom's lavender walls.

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic called out, waving his hands.

Miles caught the wrench he'd been tossing up and down and turned his head towards the source of the voice, immediately recognizing its owner. "Sonic!"

The blue blur responded by living up to his name, closing the distance almost instantly and appearing in front of Miles.

"Really? All this time and you're still calling me by that silly nickname?" Miles questioned.

"Hey, buddy. You may be all grown up now, but you're still my little bro," the speedy monarch teased with a wink.

"Oh, Sonic, sometimes I think you're still that sixteen year old from all those years ago," replied Miles, rolling his eyes.

"What can I say? I'm a kindred spirit," conceded Sonic, throwing up his hands in defeat.

"Are we ready to depart?" Blaze inquired, having caught up with her hasty husband.

"Sure thing! Just give me a sec to get the machine calibrated," Miles began, sticking his tongue out and scrunching his face in concentration. "Wouldn't want us to end up five meters underground or five miles above ground."

The nervous queen's eyes widened for a moment, her lips curling up before quickly righting themselves.

"Everything alright, Blaze?" The vulpine questioned, tilting his head in curiosity.

"What? Of course!" She hastily replied.

"I think you spooked her a little bit with the 'five miles' analogy there, Tails," Sonic smirked, playfully elbowing his wife before putting his hand between his mouth and her. "She's a bit scared of heights."

"I am not afraid of heights!" Blaze denied vehemently, her drooping ears accompanying her crossed arms.

"Sure… and I'm not the fastest thing alive," Sonic sarcastically quipped back.

"Done!" Miles exclaimed, breaking up the couple's bantering. A pure white portal surged out of the small handheld device in the inventive fox's hands. It swirled around the edges, beautifully illuminating the surrounding trees. "I've gotta be the last one to enter, since it closes once the emitter passes through."

"After you, m'lady," Sonic offered smoothly, beckoning towards the awaiting portal as it continued its soft and inviting low-pitched hum.

Blaze rolled her eyes, but accepted the offer with a grin, being the first to enter the dimensional gateway. It was like she'd entered an opaque pool of water as Sonic watched her body pass through, disappearing inch by inch.

As Blaze's brief journey concluded, Sonic looked over to his two-tailed friend. "See you on the other side, buddy," he said with a wink prior to turning to enter the portal, crossing over himself to his home dimension, old friends and older enemies awaiting his return.

**XXXX**

In a flash of white light accompanied by a moment of disorientation, Sonic was through. He'd left the portal as he'd entered. Its low pitched hum still tickled his ears, and its glowing white light still illuminated his surroundings. However, said surroundings were what had really changed. His eyes had adjusted, and he took a moment to look around. A sizable cylindrical room with modern, almost futuristic light fixtures and color palette. Simple white walls house a variety of gizmos and gadgets, the most notable of which being a giant monitor with an accompanying keyboard that would put him and his wife's flat screen to shame. Around the middle of the room was a pedestal-like structure, projecting the all-too familiar figure of a "Faceship" in three dimensions. It wasn't that which he was interested in, though. It was the familiar figures gathered around it.

There, gathered around the central structure, staring at him almost as-if their study setting had been interrupted, was the Chaotix, Amy, Tangle, and Whisper. "Sonic!" The group collectively shouted.

"It's so good to see you, man!" Exclaimed Vector, leading the charge and marching up to his long-time ally.

"Hey Vector! How's it hangin'?" Sonic asked, stepping away from the portal to give the crocodile a respectful handshake.

"Never better!" The middle-aged detective responded. Following, this Vector kept ahold of his friend's hand and pulled him in close, bringing his snout up to his ear. "How're things going with the wifey? You gotten any third-degrees yet?"

"I'm standing right here, you know," Blaze blankly interjected, standing behind her husband with crossed arms.

"O-oh! Of course!" Vector stuttered, pulling away from Sonic and waving in embarrassment.

Before Sonic could continue the friendly greetings, he looked back upon hearing his two-tailed friend stepping through the gateway of his own creation. It almost imploded behind him with an appropriate sound accompanying the closing.

"Well guys. Much as I'd like to take some more time to catch up, by the way Tails here made it sound, we don't have much time to fool around," began Sonic, dropping his easygoing tone and pointing with his right thumb to the fox behind him.

"I concur," added Blaze. "We need to defeat Eggman before he can claim more innocent lives."

"I couldn't agree more," Miles replied from behind the two, walking up to pass them. "We've gotta' go over the plan before that behemoth is ready to fire again."

The pink, red-jacket-clad hedgehog nodded to the inventive fox, leaning down and tapping a few keys at the base of the projector. An electronic beep was joined by a few pronounced red dots appearing on the blue projection of the Faceship, as well as one on the newly-projected image of the city below. "While you and Blaze were on your way over, we developed a method of attack," Amy began.

"Proceed," Blaze responded plainly.

Miles nodded, adding a grunt of acknowledgement. He reached his destination and spun around to face the group. He pointed to locations as he called them out and elaborated. "Team Chaotix is responsible for damage control on the ground. Eggman sent a sizable squadron of robots down to Apotos to try and control the civilians and prevent them from leaving. Their job's gonna be to keep them safe and bash some bots while they're at it."

"Hmph!" Vector grunted with a grin and crossed arms, having rejoined his team.

"You can count on us!" Cheered the bee of the Chaotix.

Miles continued. "Myself, Tangle, and Whisper'll be landing in near the midsection of the faceship, but then, once I've managed to hack into the system and find the reactor room for the Egg Drainer, we'll work our way down and neutralize the threat."

The lemur of the group, clad in black, short overalls and an orange undershirt, playfully elbowed her spouse. "You ready to mash some metal just like old times, babe?"

The shy wolf looked away, pulling her grey coat tighter with a bashful smile, a light blush creeping onto her face. "Yeah," she whispered.

"We're gonna have to move fast, though," Miles added, tapping another button to display a time beside the Faceship. Glowing blue, it read "0537."

"By my observations, the Faceship can fire about every twelve hours. Considering it was last used this morning, we may not have long to disarm it before it's ready again."

Tangle nodded in acknowledgement.

"Finally. Sonic and Blaze," Miles turned to the couple. "You two will be taking on the fat man himself. There's no way he'll be expecting you two to be here. Chances are, he won't be prepped for Blaze's fire powers or Sonic's speed."

"Sounds good to me. I'm always down for giving ol' Egghead a thrashing!" Sonic exclaimed, dashing up to Blaze and wrapping an arm around her with a grin. "And with my super strong and amazing wife to back me up, boiling that egg'll be a piece'a cake!"

"Now, now Sonic. Don't think that showering me in compliments is going to let you sneak that past. It is indeed you who will be backing me up," Sonic's fiery bride corrected, playing along.

"Hmph, guess we'll have to wait and see," the blue blur quipped back with a wink.

"Aww… You two are so cute!" Amy cheered, eyes sparkling in captivation, prompting a chuckle and a bashful smile from the king and queen respectively.

"Oh, and one more thing!" Miles recalled. "I've got something for you two," the couple watched as he jogged over to the desk below the large computer monitor and grabbed two circular yellow devices. Striding over to the monarchs, Miles outstretched his hands, offering one to each of them.

"What are these devices?" Blaze asked, turning over the band in her hand.

"They're special wristbands of my own design that allow Amy here to monitor your location and vitals. They also double as communicators just in case," Miles paused, seeing that Blaze was about to interject. Seemingly predicting her worry, he continued. "Oh, and don't worry Blaze. These babies are cased in a special tungsten-carbon alloy that I cooked up. They can withstand temperatures of up to six thousand degrees!"

"Impressive…" The fiery female acknowledged with admiration.

"Great work, Tails!" Congratulated Sonic.

"So, does everyone know their assignments?" Espio asked with crossed arms, having remained mostly silent.

"Sure do! You're team 'save the town,' you're team 'meet the fat man,' and we're team 'destroy the death laser before it can suck all the life out of another city!" Tangle cheered with enthusiasm, pointing to each group as she called them out with her made-up names.

"Heh, sounds 'bout right," grunted Vector.

Amy took the lead, asserting herself to finalize the preparations. "Everyone, feel free to make the necessary preparations. Blaze and Sonic, I'll escort you two to your room. It's probably nothing on-par with the 'royal suite' you two are accustomed to, but it'll get the job done."

"I'm sure it will suit our needs just fine," insisted Blaze.

"It may not be a five star hotel, but I'm sure we'll just barely manage to scrape by," Sonic smirked, narrowing his eyes holding his index finger and thumb a sliver apart.

"That's good to hear, your highness," Amy jeered.

Miles stepped over to the central projector and tapped a few buttons. The image of the Faceship and threatened city below faded away, replaced by another, far simpler projection.

"Current Time: 14:47"

Miles stepped away, standing up straight and preparing to address the group. "Everyone be ready to meet in the aircraft hangar at sixteen hundred hours. That'll give you an hour and some change to prepare."

"Yeah! Let's put away the fat man for good this time!" Tangle cheered, springing up on her tail and punching towards the sky. The rest of the freedom fighters joined in cheering for their expected victory.

**XXXX**

Another explosion shook the castle. The frantic pattering of shoes on stone was drowned out by the sound of creaking metal and falling rubble.

"Clear a path!" A short, grey koala shouted as he sprinted down the hallway as fast as his little legs could carry him, pushing precious cargo ahead of him. A fast-approaching battalion of soldiers, most of them not too dissimilar from the koala in question, but holding laser rifles and clad in camouflage combat armor, acknowledged the command, stampeding around him.

The precious cargo in question? An extra-wide stroller, carrying none other than the very future of the kingdom itself, the royal children. The purple vehicle's wheels clanked along the ground, its driver trying his damndest to push it and its wailing passengers to safety.

The king and queen had entrusted him alone with the duty of caring for the royal children. The most esteemed and honorable duty he'd ever received. He'd be dead or completely incapacitated before he'd let anything happen to them.

The attack had begun mere hours after the monarchs' departure. His new battleship, no, battlefortress, had swatted away the royal navy like flies. Now, he was on the castle doorstep...

A crack slithered down the wall beside him like a strike of lightning as yet another explosion went off, threatening to make the royal guardsman lose his footing, but his resolve did not waiver.

A left turn, a right turn, more rumbling.

"Just… one more corner!" He huffed. "Safe room…"

The koala approached a T-section in the hallway. All that stood between him and his objective was this last right. He scurried up to the corner and prepared to enter the home stretch.

With his next step, an ear-rattling concussive force shattered the stone wall in front of him. No amount of resolve would save the panda from being knocked off his feet this time. He flew back a few feet, the stroller sliding along with him. He lost his grip.

"No!" He screamed.

As the stone crumbled and the dust cleared, light from the setting sun poured in, casting long, and quite round shadows on the ground beneath the figures responsible. He shook off the stun of the blast and looked up in horror, praying in vain that he wasn't going to see who he thought he was going to...

"Why, hello there!"

Eggman Nega. Arch nemesis of the kingdom and Queen Blaze's old and most feared enemy, stared down at Gardon through his sunglasses with a purely sinister grin. A small squadron of round, crimson robots loomed menacingly behind him.

Gardon scrambled to his feet, quickly returning his hands to the stroller handles and preparing to make a break for it.

"There's no use running. Even a pea-brain like yourself should realize that much," Nega sneered, adjusting his sunglasses.

Gardon screamed in defiance, bolting away at speeds he never thought possible for a tiny koala such as himself.

Nega's crooked smile only widened, he remained calm, turning to face the now-fleeing guardsman. He raised one arm, pointing at the objective and administering a simple, yet deathly effective command.

"Get them."

Sweat poured down the panda's face, the safe room's heavy steel walls and doorway lied only seconds away, but the horrid clanking of metal feet on the ruined tile floor behind him told him that he may not even have that much. His legs powered on, and as-if through some sort of miracle, he reached his destination.

He thrusted the stroller inside with all his might, immediately bounding over and pressing the large green button on the wall. It immediately turned red, the panel above it switching from reading "ready" to "locked."

With one final motion, Gardon sprang inside as the door slammed shut. The metal fists of robots crashed against the exterior of the room, the walls holding firm. This was it. The room could now only be opened from the inside.

Gardon cautiously rolled the cart to the back of the windowless steel box. A symphony of crying children and metal-on-metal continued for what felt like an eternity. The light flickered a few times, and then went out.

Now cowering in the fetal position, the horrified koala waited for the worst, the sound of metal being peeled like an onion. He quivered more violently with each passing moment.

But it never came.

The banging and crying ceased. The room was still pitch black, but what did he care? He and the kids were safe.

Safe…

Just as an agonisingly long-awaited sigh of relief was flowing out of Gardon's lungs, the room was illuminated with flashes of tangerine light and the whine of melting metal. The koala looked on in horror as the red hot blade of the laser sword that pierced the door began to move. Sparks flew everywhere as it made a sizable horizontal incision before moving to the vertical.

Gardon's hyperventilating resumed in full force and then some. He stumbled back, making contact with the cold, steel wall of the safe room and gluing himself to it.

The three royal children wailed in fear as the blade continued its journey.

Countless long and agonizing seconds later, the whining and sparks ceased. Gardon beheld a rectangle-shaped incision going straight through the six inch steel walls. With one final crash, the door fell forwards. Light that would've otherwise poured in was instead inhibited, obstructed by the sinister silhouettes of Nega and his robots. The faint, blood red glow of a laser sword was all that illuminated the room.

"Now…" Nega began, his shadowy figure stepping forward over the downed door, following his cutter robot in. The red glow illuminated his black silhouette, revealing the same sinister smile as before.

"Let's try this again, shall we?"

**XXXX**

All Sonic the Hedgehog characters and concepts are owned by SEGA. All original characters, as well as the AU concept as a whole is by Sonicxfan64 on DeviantArt.


	2. Ember

A sleek, arrowhead-shaped plane sped above the crashing waves of the restless ocean, its engines humming rather delicately for a craft of its size.

"Apotos should be coming into view in a few minutes, along with Eggman's Faceship." Miles called back to his many passengers as he manned his wide assortment of controls.

"Good. Then we can finally get back on some solid ground…" Blaze muttered, trying desperately to conceal her nerves.

"Oh relax," insisted her speedy husband from the yellow seat beside her. "This is _Tails _we're talking about! I'm sure this thing's been carefully built and tested to kingdom come! Heck, I'd bet the ground is _more_ dangerous than this!"

"Thanks Sonic!" replied the proud vulpine, turning back to press a few red and blue buttons. "Actually, this is the Hurricane Three's first mission. I'm super happy with the results, though. This field test is going even better than expected!"

Sonic's palm flew to his face. He didn't even have to look over to his height-scared wife to know how she'd react to the revelation. "Not what she needed to hear…" he grumbled under his breath.

"First… mission?" Blaze said with wide eyes.

Miles rested his hand on the throttle and pulled back, ever-so-slightly slowing their advance. "Yep! Not that I was worried, of course. My planes have never failed me! Well… aside from that one time with the Tornado Nine-"

"Oh look, I think I see the city!" interjected Sonic. Changing the subject before his foxy friend could make things any worse.

The freedom fighters all turned in their chairs to look out the wide windshield of the Hurricane III. The white, seaside city of Apotos glistened on the horizon, along with the reason for their visit.

"Gr… that mad scientist makes me sick!" growled Vector from across the plane, laying eyes on the Faceship. "He's done some disgusting things in the past, but this may just take the cake, killing innocent people and turning them into batteries."

"Yeah, grinds my gears too," agreed Sonic.

"Can't wait to throw him in a cell right next to Mimic and throw away the key," Tangle scoffed from her seat in front of the Chaotix. She looked over to her silent spouse, seeing her ears spike up for a moment at the mention of her old teammate-turned-traitor.

The silver, gold-accented form of the Freedom Fighters' craft continued speeding towards its destination. In mere moments, the finer details of the Faceship were on full display. Its over-exaggerated facial features occupied the flat front, with several powerful thrusters billowing out exhaust from the bottom.

Miles reached over and tapped a button on his control panel. A cylindrical projector unit in the center of the cabin once again displayed the drop points.

"I'm gonna slow to cruising speed. Team Chaotix, you're up first. Report to the cargo bay to grab your parachutes," Miles instructed, not taking his eyes off the sky.

"You got it, bud!" Vector excitedly replied, shooting up from his chair with a thumbs up. "C'mon boys, time to do some _aggressive _investigating," he called, beckoning to his two teammates.

"Aw man, this is gonna be just like old times!" Charmy cheered, flying out of his seat and throwing his fists in the air. "Team Chaotix, bustin' bots and crackin' eggs!"

"Now Charmy, don't get too excited," warned Espio as he rose and turned to follow his partners. "Remember, our primary objective is to keep the civilians safe, not run a demolition derby with Eggman's tin cans, heh, fun as that may be," he finished with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah I know," the buzzy detective responded.

"Of course, if any 'tin cans' just so happen to get in the way of our _primary _objective…" Vector began, getting cut off as the last of the detectives strode through the door of the cabin and it slid shut behind them.

With the press of a few buttons, a pullback on a throttle stick, and a soft jolt, the Hurricane III began to decelerate, reaching its optimal cruising speed moments before they were almost directly overhead. One final button press and Miles leaned into a microphone sitting to his right. "Alright Team Chaotix, we're about ten seconds from the drop point, I'm gonna switch to hover mode once we're there. After that, you're free to drop at your discretion."

Sonic heard a light groan and looked over to find the source of it. As he'd suspected, his wife was leaning back in her chair, holding her stomach with one hand and the armrest in a death grip with the other. Delicately, he reached his hand over and rested it on top of hers, trying to calm the storm that was no doubt churning inside of her at the mention of jumping out of the plane.

"It'll be alright," he murmured warmly.

"I am _not_ afraid of-" Blaze's protest was cut off by a jolt.

Two of the craft's four mighty jets on its rear cut off, while the other two angled downward. The front of the plane's flat bottom opened up, revealing another small jet engine. It rumbled to life, holding the nose in place as the Hurricane III shifted into a hover.

"Hmph!" she grunted as her other hand flew on top of Sonic's. She looked up to her king with embarrassed, wide eyes, likely expecting a playful smirk, but being surprised by a warm smile.

Sonic turned his captured hand and moved his free one, tightly grasping Blaze's in between them. "Relax, dear," he delicately insisted.

"I…" she began before realizing how futile it would be to try and deny her fear any further. "Thank you," she finished with a timid smile, her already-present blush deepening.

"Aw… look at the two wuvbirds," a sly lemur teased from her chair, rousing a giggle from Whisper.

"S'cute…" the wolf chuckled in her usual hushed tone.

Blaze's retaliatory growl was cut short by Miles' instructions. "Alright, Chaotix, we're stabilized. There should be a glowing red 'down' button on the side of the compartment. Press it when you're ready."

Moments later, an indicator light flashed on the dash, telling Miles that the team had heeded his instructions and opened the bay door. "Good luck, Chaotix!" he wished before shutting off the mic.

Shortly after the Chaotix were confirmed to be clear, the bay door was shut and the craft was back underway.

"Alright Sonic and Blaze, you two are up next," Miles called back to the couple.

"Aye, aye captain!" the speedy king replied with a mock salute. "You ready, dear?"

"As I'll… ever be." the pyrokinetic queen responded warily, her legs lightly trembling as she rose from her seat.

"We're gonna have to move fast on this one. I've got no idea what kind of air defense that metal monstrosity has, if any," instructed the plane's two-tailed pilot.

"You heard the man. Let's show that Egghead what for!" cheered Sonic.

"Drop point in sixty seconds." Miles announced.

Sonic began striding toward the exit, his reluctant wife in-tow.

"Good luck, lovebirds!" Tangle teased once more with a playful wave.

"You too, _lovebirds," _Sonic fired back.

"Hmph. Touché," Tangle conceded, wrapping her free arm around her canine companion.

"We'll meet up with you guys at the top after the Egg Drainer's taken care of. Your bracelets have their trackers synced up with my watch," Miles explained, holding up his right arm. "Forty seconds."

"Sounds like a plan, we'll try to save some scrambled eggs for the rest of you, but no promises!" Replied Sonic with a cocky smirk as the door shut behind him.

Now shut off from the group, the couple promptly found their parachutes and strapped them on. As they finished up and walked towards the glowing red button, Sonic noticed Blaze's trembling once more.

"It'll all be over in a few seconds, just take deep breaths, hold tight onto me, and don't look down," Instructed Sonic in the most soothing voice he could manage, taking Blaze's hand in his.

The nervous spouse's trembling slowed, her nerves calming with her husband's words. She looked up at him, smiling in appreciation.

Moments after another jolt, Miles' voice came over a loudspeaker in the room, giving the rulers the go-ahead. "Alright, now, as I said. _Don't _look down," Sonic reminded, slamming the button.

Blaze nodded in acknowledgement, her eyes staying locked onto Sonic's.

The quickster wrapped his free arm around Blaze's waist as the door slid open. A violent swirl of air poured in, ruffling her hair and forcing her eyes to a squint. It wasn't but a few seconds later that the cycle had completed, revealing the Faceship below. The queen heeded her king's instructions, keeping her eyes on him as they slowly approached the edge.

In a swift jerking motion, Blaze whipped around and wrapped her arms around Sonic's midsection and glued her eyes shut, hugging him with all her might and burying her head in his shoulder.

"Mmph!" Sonic grunted. "I'd say we should use a harness, but steel's got nothing on you!" he joked, barely audible over the rushing of the wind as his uncharacteristically vulnerable spouse held him in a vice grip.

Blaze lightly chuckled at her husband's jest.

"Hurry Sonic!" Miles' voice called out to the two.

The blue blur's face grew serious, remembering their time crunch. "I'm gonna count down from three, then we're gonna jump, 'kay?"

The queen's face lightly rubbed against his vest, conveying a nod.

"Three… two…"

Somehow, Blaze's grip grew even tighter.

"One!"

A single leap, and the couple was plummeting from the plane. Blaze continued to heed her king's advice, grasping him tightly and refusing to even open her eyes let alone look down. Sonic shifted, guiding their freefalling position.

They passed the top of the head, with Sonic completing the task of aligning him and his wife with the nose of the Faceship. "I'm 'bout to pull the chute. Get ready!" he yelled.

Just as they reached the top of the eyes, Sonic yanked the cord on the back of his pack. The parachute fully unfurled, immediately delivering a strong jolt, slowing their descent. "We're coming in hot!" he warned.

With one final pull on the strings, and a grunt as two pairs of legs absorbed the shock, the two had reached their destination. They now stood on the top of the vessel's large nose, right next to the metal wall separating them from the interior.

"You can let go now dear. We're safe." Informed Sonic. The descent had ended, but the wind still bowled around them.

The pyrokinetic queen nodded, separating herself from her lover with a shaky, yet relieved sigh.

"Thank you for choosing Air Sonic. We hope you enjoyed your flight!" Sonic joked as Blaze straightened out her clothes, regaining her composure.

"Simply wonderful…" Blaze mumbled, looking over at the wall before pausing and turning back. "Thanks again…"

"Hey, what are hubbies for?" her husband grinned. "Plus, you - kinda - helped me get over my fear of water, only a matter of time before I return the favor, right?"

"I suppose so…" Blaze responded with a shaky smile. After all, they may have not been freefalling any longer, but standing on a long, somewhat narrow platform more than a kilometer above the ground was still no pleasant experience.

"Now…" Sonic began, swiveling to face the metal wall and grabbing his chin. "How are we gonna get through here? I'm sure Egghead's got this reinforced to resist my trademark moves."

The queen contemplated for a moment as well, coming up with a plan. "My pyrokinesis may not do the best in these windy conditions, but they should be effective enough to at least soften the exterior enough for you to punch through," she elaborated.

"Won't that, y'know, burn me a lil' bit?" Sonic asked skeptically. "I'm all for a good ol' chili dog, but I'm in no hurry to figure out what cooked hedgehog tastes like."

"Not if you're quick about it," Blaze promptly replied, setting her hands alight and beginning the procedure before continuing. "Heat needs time to transfer. At _your_ speeds, you should have no problem busting through the wall before it can 'cook' you."

The blue blur hummed in contemplation, tapping his foot wildly. "So… you're saying _I've _gotta be fast? Are you sure I can do that?" he asked sarcastically.

His wife ceased for a moment to turn to face her quippy husband, putting her hands on her hips with a smirk.

"Alright, alright… I'll try and manage," was the sarcastic response.

"That's what I like to hear," Blaze replied, turning to resume her work. Sonic's foot continued to feverishly tap as a stream of fire once again bathed the metal in heat, slowly instigating a change in color.

"Try it now," the fiery feline commanded, ceasing her fire and motioning to the orange-hot metal.

A high-pitched squeal rang out as Sonic charged his spindash before jetting forward at supersonic speeds. As Blaze predicted, he shot through the wall without issue. The shriek and twisting of tearing metal marked success as a hole large enough to fit through was carved. He shot through to the other side and uncurled, skidding to a stop. His smoking body quickly righted itself before beckoning down to a spot beside it. "Your royal passage awaits, your highness," he jested.

"Haha, very funny. Good work!" Blaze yelled back from the other side with an amused smile.

"Oh come on. You cracked a smile," Sonic rebutted. In one swift motion, Blaze dove forward, streamlining her body and sailing through the opening with ease. She promptly rolled on the floor and moved to join her husband. "Dang, momma's still got some moves!" he teased with a hint of a suggestive tone.

"Not only that…" Blaze began, turning to face him. "I've also got some jokes of my own."

"Oh yeah? Let's hear it!" Sonic demanded.

"Your hair's on fire."

"What? I but don't have any-" he began, stopping short as the smell of the aforementioned 'cooked hedgehog' entered his nose. "Wait… gah!"

* * *

Three pairs of feet struck the metal floor of the Faceship, having entered through a freshly carved hole in the wall. The plane they descended from now sped away, on autopilot back to Freedom HQ.

"We need to be stealthy until I can find a terminal to locate the weapon's reactor." the two-tailed leader of the bunch hushly explained.

"Pfft, stealthy? That's my middle name!" Tangle sneered dismissively.

"Shhh!" her wolfy wife demanded.

"Oh right! Pfft, stealthy? That's my middle name!" she repeated, only far quieter.

"Once we locate our target, you can go around bashing bots and yelling as much as you want," Miles said as the group began their move through the halls of the Faceship.

The group's quiet, but swift strides brought them to a T-section, with one path going out in each direction. Tails made a motion with his hands, causing Tangle to tilt her head to the side in confusion.

"Split up!" Whisper clarified, grabbing the lost lemur's hand and pulling her to the right.

"Call me on the wristbands if you find anything," instructed Miles as the two groups parted ways. Tangle flashed a winking grin in his direction before turning back around to traverse the metal corridor.

Whisper's signature mask slid over her face as she took the lead. Up ahead, another split presented itself, only it was a four-way. The predator's ear twitched, prompting her to hold out her arm and Wispon, blocking Tangle's path.

"What gives?"

"Shh!" Whisper promptly answered, holding her free hand's index finger to her mouth.

Seconds later, Tangle's less-sensitive ears picked up the sound. Metal feet clanking on a similarly-composed floor. Shadows crept in from the hall on the left, presumably a squadron of Eggman's robots. In haste, Whisper's head darted around, trying to find cover.

Tangle beat her to the punch, spotting a closed door just down the hall. Presumably locked, but indented enough for them to hide behind. In one swift motion, the lemur's tail wrapped around Whisper's waist. She dashed across the hall with the flustered wolf in-tow.

The two plastered themselves against the closed metal door in the nick of time, just as the first hint of metal rounded the corner. Tangle peered around as the battalion of soulless soldiers marched through the intersection, weidling sizeable blasters while their heavy spherical frames caught the shine of the overhead lights.

The prey-and-predator combo remained frozen in place for what seemed like forever, until finally, Tangle could no longer hear the clanking of metal feet. She let out a huge sigh of relief, flushing the tenseness from her body. "Phew, I _hate _this whole 'covert' thing," the spunky lemur complained softly.

"Mmm…"

Tangle's face darted over to her partner in an effort to discover the cause of Whisper's uncomfortable humming. In a flash of clarity, she realized that her tail was still tightly wrapped around the wolf, who was in-turn hugging herself with slightly flushed cheeks. "Oh, sorry!" she apologized.

"S'okay…" Whisper muttered, hesitantly stroking the tail, her blush deepening. "Comfy…"

"Aww…" Tangle cooed as she reclaimed her tail. "You're so cute when you're flustered."

"Mission," was the embarrassed, hushed reply.

"Ah, right!" The lemur recalled. "Find Miles a thingy!"

"Terminal."

"Whatever!"

Tangle stepped out and whipped around, facing the metal door and humming with a contemplative hand on her chin. "Hmm… whatever's behind this door must be worth protecting," she deduced. "You can cut through this, right?"

Whisper responded with action, stepping out and setting her Wispon to its pink 'saw' mode. The usually-timid wolf swiftly fired a series of laser saws from the weapon's muzzle, slicing through the barrier with ease.

The sliced halves of the door fell into the room it'd been protecting, and the team of two dashed in. It's a pretty typical room as far as a room on a death ship shaped like a mad genius' face is concerned. A small red-accented work table with a toolbox and a bunch of blueprints on top sat in the middle, with miscellaneous robot parts both hanging and leaning on the wall to the side. On the opposite wall was what the team had come here for, a computer terminal.

"Ha, ha! Team 'destroy the death laser before it can suck all the life out of another city' strikes gold!" Tangle cheered, bouncing on her tail.

"Shh!"

"Oh right… sorry," the lemur whispered

"Call Miles."

"Gotcha."

Tangle raised her wrist to her face and tapped a button on the bracelet. Its outline glowed a lighter shade of blue, indicating a connection. "Yo Miles, we found the terminal thingy!"

"You did? Great! Just sit tight, I'm tracking your location now," the fox's voice responded from the other end.

"You got it boss!"

Moments of patient and not-so-patient waiting later, the fox inventor appeared in the doorway. He quickly scanned the room, seeing the couple, followed by the computer terminal. "Great work guys!" congratulated Miles in an excited whisper, striding over to the terminal and working to locate its port.

Whisper strode out passed her wife and towards the doorway. She poked her head out, looking in each direction to make sure they were in the clear.

Miles located the computer's access port and grabbed the end of his watch, pulling gently. A cord with a male jack on the end of it extended out, promptly connecting. "This should only take…" he mumbled to himself, sticking his tongue out in concentration. "Got it!" he announced seconds later. "The room's five levels down and about four intersections from our current location!"

"So now that we know where we're going…" Tangle began slyly before her eyes grew wide and sparkly with anticipation. "Does that mean we can go through and smash stuff now?!"

Whisper giggled at her wife's enthusiasm while Miles confirmed her suspicions.

"Yes Tangle, we can 'smash stuff' now."

"Woohoo!" she beamed, dashing out of the room and veering to the right. "Wait, which way are we going again?"

"I don't know how you guys do it," Miles chuckled, turning to Whisper.

Whisper grabbed her arm as her face shifted to the side in embarrassment. "Yin to my Yang…"

* * *

The sound of electric shocks and breaking metal resonated through the ruined section of Apotos. Dismembered and deactivated robots littered the edge of a large clearing connecting several paths, with some of them laying on top of piles of rubble that used to be homes. The cause of all this chaos? A three-man detective team with a very fitting name.

"That's it Team Chaotix! Let's keep these walking trash cans on the ropes!" the team's fearless green leader shouted as he punched clean through another robot. "Espio, how's the evacuation going?"

Espio materialized seemingly out of this air across the clearing. "This section of the city's almost entirely evacuated. The rest'll be out soon!" he yelled in reply before fading from sight once more.

"Eyes in the sky can confirm!" the team's buzzy paramedic affirmed, zipping away from the scene with an unconscious adult lynx in-hand.

Another of Eggman's rotund bots charged Vector, red energy sword in-hand. The crocodile braced himself, raising his arms as the robot closed the distance and swung downward. Purple crackles shot out from the clash as blue wrist guards absorbed the strike with ease, supported by his immense strength.

"Hmph! That's all you got?" Vector smirked, removing his right arm and grabbing the robot's oversized wrist. With a grunt, the arm creaked upwards and off his left wrist. Realizing what was happening, the robot used its free hand to try and retaliate, winding it back for a punch. However, with his left arm now free, Vector easily caught its fist.

"Graa!" the team's muscle bellowed as they shifted their weight and launched the robot to the right. It tumbled madly towards a building before regaining its footing just before impact with an intact building, but it still wasn't enough to save it from crashing into the white wall. "Haha! Score one for Vector!"

A metal hand clanking against stone cut the croc's victory cheer short. As the dust cleared, the robot rose from the wall, rubble falling from its body.

"Aw, come on!" he complained.

Two shurikens streaked across the battlefield, striking the robot in the chest just as it was reaching its full height once more. Mere instants later, a rapid beeping, accompanied by a small red flash emmanted from each shuriken. The robot's optical sensor tilted down, trying in vain to analyze the devices before they both detonated, engulfing its body in an explosion.

When the smoke cleared, the robot was on what was left of its back, its front was a dismembered mess with wires pouring out and small bolts of electricity dancing between them.

The Chaotix leader twisted around towards the origin of the shurikens, "aww… I had him!" he complained.

"Didn't realize we were keeping score," the purple chameleon responsible mused. "But if we were, then I guess that's a point for me."

"Um… guys, we've got a problem!" The familiar voice of Charmy Bee called from above. The two grounded teammates looked up to him, and then to where he was pointing. The sound of more metal feet on stone rang out as at least a dozen robots approached from one of the many streets leading to the square. Most using the aforementioned swords, while a few wielded blasters.

Vector turned back to Espio with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. "Hmph! Never said we _were_, but if you insist..."

Fists flew, shurikens soared, and the bee attacked from above, distracting the ranged units. Vector's grabbed a robot by the wrists and planted his leg firmly on its midsection, yanking and removing its two arms with ease before throwing them to the wayside and bashing his fist through its unguardable body.

As the disabled bot fell, another dashed up, ready to take its place, only to stopped in its tracks by the purple chameleon that had bounded up to drive his blue energy dagger into its head. It fell forward in a heap as its attacker lept away.

Mere minutes later, all ground units had been dealt with in similar fashion. The two then turned to the four ranged attackers, who were currently occupied with Charmy. Their blasters didn't have a particularly fast rate of fire, but what they lacked in speed, they made up for in deadliness. The nimble bee danced around the sky, narrowly dodging the thick orange bolts.

"Gonna have to try a little harder than that, bolt brains!" Charmy taunted, sticking his tongue out. "Woah!" he shouted in surprise, almost being caught off guard and separating his legs in the nick of time to avoid losing his landing gears in a double amputation.

The fourth robot readied its weapon once more, preparing to take its shot.

"Mind if I try that?"

Before the robot could hope to respond, not that it could, its weapon was stolen as a foot collided with its chest, sending it flying backward. Vector held the oversized blaster, lugging it to the left in order to train it on the other three bots. "Hey can openers!"

The bots momentarily ceased their onslaught and turned their cranial units towards Vector's distraction.

"Catch!" he grunted, pulling the trigger and sending a powerful burst of energy hurtling towards them. It's laser-like noise was swiftly joined by the sound of tearing metal as it easily pierced the armor of its targets. Having clearly not been built to resist their own weapons, it sliced through them like butter, leaving clean holes in each one. Charmy ceased his aerial acrobatics and breathed a sigh of relief.

The last of the squadron, along with their misused laser rifle, clanked to the ground, having been finished off by Espio. "So," Vector grinned, turning towards the chameleon with crossed arms. "I believe that makes our score an even six-to-six, unless a three-for-one combo counts as extra!"

"How 'bout no," Espio smirked in response.

Charmy set down next to the two, giving his wings a much needed rest. "All the civilians have been evacuated from the area. Luckily for us, the robots seem to clump in one spot at a time."

"Glad we minimized civilian casualties. Let's just hope the other five do their part." Said Vector.

"Oh please, I'm this is the Freedom Fighters, plus Sonic and Blaze we're talking about!" Charmy began with a dismissive hand gesture. "Heck, I'm sure they've already got the weapon disabled and are handing the good doctor's butt to him right now!"

Before any conversation could continue, a metallic _clank _rang out through the battlefield, followed by several more. It wasn't dissimilar from the stomping of the previous robots, but these clanks were far deeper and heavier.

Team Chaotix all turned their heads toward the sound's source. Before them, across the battlefield was a mechanical monstrosity. It towered over Vector, being at least twice his height. Attached to the end of its heavily reinforced right arm was a long, singing red energy blade. On its left was a circular shield with a red star in the center.

"**Egg Paladin unit: Online. Three priority targets acquired. Commence extermination protocols," **its heavy and menacing robotic voice bellowed.

"Uhh… how many points is that one worth?" a nervous Charmy asked with wide eyes and a weak point.

"All or nothing…" Vector muttered back.

Charmy took to the skies as the Egg Paladin short forward, its bulky form moving deceptively fast. Luckily for Vector, he was faster. He sidestepped to the left, feeling a gust of wind as the sword sliced through the air and into the stone ground.

Before the robot could pull its sword out of the demolished stone, two shrunkens soared its way. The Paladin reacted in-kind, swinging its shielded arm to block the projectiles. Just as with its weaker brethren, they embedded themselves into the metal, preparing to detonate.

The glowing blade was removed and swiped along the ground at Vector's feet, the crocodile jumped up to dodge, preparing to counterattack with a powerful punch. However, as his wound-back fist prepared for its journey, the shield was swung over in front of him. Espio's projectiles detonated right in front of Vector.

"Gahh!" the team leader shouted, being knocked back by the force of the explosion.

Espio gasped upon seeing his own attack turned against them. The shock wore off quickly, his face forming a scowl as he slipped from sight.

"Boss!" Charmy yelled, aiming a dive kick at the column of smoke surrounding the Egg Paladin. Before the attack could connect however, a sound not unlike Sonic's spindash, but far deeper and metallic rang out from the center of the cloud. "Huh?!" Charmy stopped in his tracks and watched in confusion as the smoke swirled around and dispersed. Where the Egg Paladin once was, there was now a rapidly spinning metal ball. The bee's eyes went wide in realization. "Vector, look out!"

Just as Vector was getting off one knee, the Paladin's spherical form surged forward. The shaken croc was still unable to dodge, wincing in pain as he tried to dash away. Luckily for him, he had teammates. The invisible form of Espio snatched Vector up and propelled him out of the way mere moments before the Paladin barreled through.

Team Chaotix watched as the robot was unable to stop itself from crashing into the remains of a building, kicking up dirt and rubble.

"You alright Vector?" Espio asked with concern, still using his shoulder to support his leader.

"Yeah, just a little shaken up, I'll be good in a sec," Vector replied, breaking away from Espio's grasp.

Espio sheepishly apologized for being so careless.

"Hey, don't sweat it! You couldn't'a known it was gonna do that, just keep it in mind for next time!" Vector insisted. Just then, a disturbance in the clearing rubble caught his attention. "Speaking of next time…"

The Egg Paladin stepped out of the debris, back in its bipedal form and brandishing its sword once more. Team Chaotix assumed their fighting positions, but were left waiting an almost awkward amount of time for their adversary to make its move, eventually being caught off guard when it spoke.

"**Threat level increased to level two. Adapting accordingly." **Out of its shoulder region sprouted two more small appendages, each sporting quite a wide laser cannon. A mechanical whirring sound ensued as their interiors began to spin, emitting a red light.

Vector nervously stepped back, wide-eyed. "Uhh… I didn't know it could do that."

* * *

The heat was turning up in the Faceship as a pyrokinetic cat and her speedy spouse stormed through the upper levels. Another freshly wasted squadron of robots laid in a heap behind them as they pressed onward.

"Heh, you'd think after all these years that Egghead would've hired some better help," Sonic smirked, him and his wife rounding a corner to reveal yet another group of enemies.

"Let's be fortunate the deadliness of his 'help' doesn't match the newfound deadliness of his plans," replied Blaze, her hands producing fireballs as they advanced. "This new device of his… it's horrible, inhumane-"

"And don't forget doomed to fail!" Sonic cockily added on. "Speaking of doomed…"

The wide hallway filled with robots became another battlefield, with the couple going on the offensive. The robots struggled to keep up as Sonic's spindash carved through them one-by-one, bashing through them before bouncing up and speeding towards it next target. Meanwhile, the other half of the robots were no match for the sweltering heat of the queen's pyrokinetics. Several at once were bathed in scorching fire and melted down to scrap.

"Five, six, seven…" the speedy monarch counted as he racked up a score. Seconds later, the sound of busting metal and electronics left the hallway. "And… nine! Ha, let's see you top that!" he finished, whipping around to his wife.

Blaze's flames calmed, revealing what was left of their targets. "Twelve."

"Wha? No way!" Sonic protested.

"The number of pools of molten metal and half-melted robots confirms my counting," Blaze playfully smirked.

"Alright… you win this one." her defeated husband admitted.

With the latest group of dispensable metal henchmen taken care of, the rulers decided to take it slow for a bit, briskly walking through the red-accented halls. However, the silence didn't last long, with the queen voicing her skepticisms.

"It's a little… odd for Eggman to attack like this, don't you think?" she asked the easygoing blue hedgehog to her side.

"Weird how?"

"If this had been a decade or so ago, back before you moved away-"

"To rule the Sol Kingdom with the most amazing wife a blue speedy hedgehog could ask for?" Sonic interrupted with a grin. Blaze smiled bashfully, a small blush creeping onto her face before she righted herself and continued.

"This would've made sense then, but his plans became more and more calculated after the metal virus fiasco. This seems way too brute-force for him now."

"Well maybe the old geiser's age is finally getting to him," Proposed the cocky hedgehog.

"Ha, maybe," Blaze chuckled. "But still, something just feels… off."

Rounding a corner, the couple spotted a massive door at the end of the growing hallway. The cat's eye narrowed at the sight as the two approached, their feet tapping on the metal floor.

"Quite the door," she thought aloud.

"You know how good ol' Egghead is, always tryna' make himself look way more important than he actually is." Sonic sneered, shrugging his shoulders.

The duo paused in front of the grey door with Eggman's red logo in the middle, looking up to take in its size, standing about three times their height. "This is likely our destination, we'll have to do what we did outside and-" Before Blaze could finish articulating her plan, the mighty door began to grind open. "Interesting…"

A massive circular room was revealed by the parted door. The monarchs strode in and gazed around, noting how generally featureless the red and grey room was. Four large metal vents lay in different corners of the room, and its dome-shaped ceiling's grey surface contained no windows or standout features, aside from another Eggman logo at the top. Finally, they turned their attention to the center of the room. A yellow Chaos Emerald floated atop a short pedestal, covered by a transparent dome.

"Hmph, weird that Egghead would leave part of his rock collection out on display," Sonic joked, striding forward nonchalantly.

"It's obviously some sort of trap," Blaze deduced.

"You should really listen to that wifey-poo of yours, you rotten rodent!" a taunting, all-too-familiar voice rang all throughout the room, proving the queen correct. "She may not hold a candle to _my_ brilliance, but she's always been leagues ahead of you and that pea-sized brain!"

Blaze ignited her hands while Sonic circled his arms, stretching while he yelled back to his old 'friend.' "Yolk-for-brains, bout time! Where's our welcome mat?"

"Ah yes, how rude of me, not greeting my valued guests at the door!" Eggman fake-apologized. "I'll be right out, just let me get prettied up first!"

"Oh boy. Can't wait to see what walking trash can you've built to throw at us this ti-" the room shook below Sonic and Blaze's feet, interrupting his taunting.

A piercing metallic _creak _echoed throughout the room. "What is this?!" the pyrokinetic queen yelled as she watched the center of the room rise along with the emerald. As it continued to rise, a wide glass window, along with several pattern-forming lines surfaced.

Eggman cackled madly as the cylinder rose higher, towering over Sonic and Blaze by several body lengths.

The rumbling and rising ceased, an ominous silence falling over the battlefield as the two parties sat there, as-if staring each other down.

A loss of control accompanied by mad cackling broke the silence. Sonic held his stomach, mockingly pointing at Eggman's creation. "Oh man, I was spot on this time! Except it's not even a _walking _trash can!"

"Silence, insolent insect!" Demanded Eggman from the top of the mech. "You won't be so quick to judge once I show you my mechanical marvel's _true _form!"

With the tap of a button, Eggman's mech began to unfold. Four spider-like legs sprouted from the bottom, along with two arms from the sides. Some of the extra armor folded up and in to reveal an all-encompassing ring of strange openings below the cockpit.

In one final, powerful motion, it stood up and brandished its arms. On the right arm was a simple wrist cannon, while the other housed a shield along its length. The fingers of both hands seemed to have holes on the tips for reason that neither of the monarchs could discern.

"Well I'll give one thing to ya' Egghead. I was wrong, your latest toy's no trash can, it's a glorified can opener!" Sonic jeered.

"It's far more than just a toy, hedgehog! And the only thing it'll be 'opening' is your _skulls!" _

"We'll just see about that," Blaze growled, taking a step forward.

"Ah, ah, ah, my fiery feline, this marvel before you isn't _all _I have in store for you," Eggman mocked through his fervent typing on a keyboard.

The queen stopped in her tracks as the faint hissing of air through a vent filled her ears. She whipped around, trying to locate the origin of this new sound. Aside from the openings on mech itself, the four vents they'd noticed earlier also joined in. Their purpose was made clear as a light fog billowed out. Blaze and her husband watched in awe as it settled to the floor.

"What are you trying to accomplish? 'Spooky zombie movie' us to death? Don't you remember, you already tried that whole 'zombie' thing. Didn't exactly work out in your favor," Sonic taunted as the fog thickened near the floor and lowered the temperature considerably.

"Sonic, wait, something's wrong!"

The flaming monarch was indeed correct, she looked down at her hands as their fire began to weaken. Blaze struggled to keep the flames going, grunting as her hands barely stayed lit.

Sonic's eyes grew wide with epiphany. "Egghead!"

"What's the matter, Sonic? Feeling a little sticky out there?" He teased with a chuckle as he slammed a button, stopping the flow of humidity into the room. "That's right, your precious queen's flame powers will be heavily hindered, if not _useless _in this environment!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Blaze stated warily, her fists clenching.

"Why's that, dear?" asked the confused hedgehog. "So what if he came a little more prepared than normal? We're still gonna kick his butt!"

"That's not it," she replied, narrowing her eyes at the chuckling mad genius and his combat-ready mech. "How could he possibly have known to plan to combat _my_ powers specifically? It doesn't make any sense…"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the supervillain taunted in response. With a few more button presses and lever pulls, the mech snapped into a fighting stance, leading with its cannon arm and bending its front legs to compensate. "But enough talk, you obnoxious animals have been throwing your furry wrenches in my plans for far too long! Soon I'll be rid of you once and for all!"

"Isn't that what you said the last hundred times?" Smirked Sonic, assuming his own fighting stance along with his handicapped, but determined partner.

"Hmph! This time will be different, rodent," Eggman rebutted with a sinister grin.

"Trust me…"

**XXXX**

All Sonic the Hedgehog characters and concepts are owned by SEGA. All original characters, as well as the AU concept as a whole is by Sonicxfan64 on DeviantArt.


	3. Conflagration

A massive metal fist crashed down, denting the floor of the Faceship and narrowly missing its target once more. The adversary in question zoomed out of the way in the form of a blue ball, skidding along before charging up and launching itself at the fist's owner. Before the ball could even dream of connecting, a shield snapped into position, effortlessly bouncing it away.

"Ha, ha, ha! Your feeble attempts to stop me end today, hedgehog!" gloated the giant mech's psychotic pilot as his shield twisted to the left to block a lavender cat's severely-weakened stream of fire. "You and your precious flaming feline've finally met your match!"

The blue orb skidded to a halt, uncurling to reveal the speedy king of the Sol Kingdom. "Oh please, Egghead!" Sonic began before dodging an energy bolt from Eggman's wrist blaster and dashing to the side. "Blaze and I have been whooping your butt for decades! I know you're insane, but maybe it's time to stop expecting a different outcome!"

"Hmph! It's not about the battle, rodent, it's about the war!" the mad doctor fired back, training his wrist cannon on the blue blur once more.

Sonic effortlessly sped out of the way of another blast. "Quite the long war campaign you've been running then. Was losing a gazillion battles part of your long-game strategy?"

"Silence!" was the irritated response as a metal fist came surging down towards Sonic, while the other arm continued to block Blaze's fire attacks.

The speedy monarch zipped back to his co-ruler and skidded to a halt, crossing his arms. "Make me!"

The pyrokinetic queen ceased her flames. "This new mech of Eggman's has proven quite effective at reacting to our movements," she observed, not taking her eyes off their menacing opponent.

"Yeah, I noticed, you got a plan then?" Sonic asked impatiently.

"As a matter of fact, I do," was the calculated response as the cat raised her hand to point at the mech's shield. "It can only shield attacks from one direction, so we need only attack it from opposite sides. My powers may be far weaker than normal in these conditions, but _yours _are unaffected."

"What are you feeble furries muttering about over there?" interrupted Eggman before straightening his face back into its crooked smile. "No matter, nothing you do will hope to stand up to my mechanical masterpiece!"

"Can it Egghead!" Sonic demanded.

"My fire will serve as a distraction while you launch the _real _attack from behind," concluded Blaze as she struggled to ignite her hands.

"Enough stalling, you two lovebirds can babble all you want in the afterlife!" Eggman yelled, training his wrist cannon on the couple.

With one final grin and nod over to his wife, the plan was enacted. As yet another blast from Eggman's cannon soared towards the two, they darted away in opposite directions. Blaze rushed to the side, launching a volley of fireballs as she sprinted along. As suspected, Eggman's focus remained mostly on her flashier attacks, with the shield being raised to block them effortlessly.

From the other side of the room, Sonic skidded to the side and curled up into a spindash. The volatile ball spun on the metal floor, building up speed before hurling itself towards its target, the mech's midsection.

Blaze stopped running and brought her hands together, combining their strength and firing a stronger stream of fire. With the blue blur soaring at Eggman from one direction, and a stream of fire in from the other, one of the attacks seemed bound to connect.

To Blaze's surprise, the shielded arm did a oneighty, whipping around to block the midair spindash and leaving the incoming assault undefended. Sonic clinked harmlessly against the shield while the mech's other arm snapped into place in front of the burning column. The queen watched in confusion as the openings on the end of every fingertip revealed their purpose. A powerful jet of water sprayed out, the weakened fire attack being extinguished with ease by the high-pressure response.

Sonic once again skidded to a halt, uncurling from the failed attack just in time to see the wrist cannon train directly on his stunned spouse. "Blaze, no!"

She barely had time to react, throwing up a desperate shield of fire to block the blast as it surged towards her. Sonic looked on in horror as the attack made contact with the barrier, shattering it instantly. Blaze was thrown out of the blast zone, her back colliding with the wall behind her. The wind stampeded out of her lungs as she began her descent to the floor, barely catching herself with her hands.

Eggman laughed maniacally at his handiwork before turning to face his other adversary. "How do you like my 'can opener' now, you obnoxious rodent?" he sneered, brandishing his wrist blaster.

"Blaze!" the protective husband yelled before returning his attention to her attacker. "You're gonna pay for that!"

The psychotic scientist readied his shield as his adversary surged towards him at even faster speeds. As Sonic's attack futilely plinked off Eggman's shield, he raised the other arm to counterattack, another bolt surging from his mech's wrist. The speedy monarch dodged the blast, not leaving his ball form while he aimed another attack at the mech's leg.

Blaze wavered as she rose to one knee, grimacing helplessly as attack after attack was blocked and counterattacked by Eggman. With both his arms focused on Sonic, even _he_ wouldn't be able to last forever. With a burst of exertion, Blaze shot to her feet, igniting her hands in a fiery fervor.

A warning light blinked on Eggman's console, throwing off his attempt to grab the blue nuisance. "Gra! What is it?" he glanced around to see the pyrokinetic queen glaring daggers at him, ready to go on the offensive once more. "Ah, ah, ah… stay down kitty!" the doctor taunted. With the tap of a button, the mech's unshielded arm whipped around to face her, spraying a geyser of water from its fingertips once more. Blaze was promptly drenched in water, dousing her flames and sending her flying back once more.

Sonic growled angrily as Blaze's soaked form struggled to keep its footing. "Blaze!" He curled up once more, hurling himself at the doctor while his other arm was out of the picture.

"You furry fools have been perfectly countered by my mechanical marvel, the Egg Drencher!" gloated Eggman as Sonic harmlessely ricoched off the shield once more. "Your win streak ends here, you reprehensible rodent, along with your doused and out wife!"

Sonic uncurled, only to find himself staring down the barrel of the Egg Drencher's wrist cannon. The inside whirred to life with an orange glow, preparing to vaporize its target. With a gasp, Sonic shot up into the air, narrowly avoiding the blast as the bolt crashed into the floor. The speedy monarch breathed as a small sigh of relief as he prepared to descend to the ground and deliver a counterattack. However, that chance never came.

Eggman took the opportunity of Sonic being in the air, unable to further alter his direction. The robot's shielded arm shot out in front, the open hand rapidly extending in piston-like fashion.

"Gah!" Sonic yelled as the cold metal appendage wrapped around him and retracted. He wriggled in vain as the crazed doctor brought him closer to the cockpit.

"Aww… poor hedgehog, caught in a trap!" sneered Eggman, inspecting his catch before turning to face his other adversary.

"You… won't get away with th-ahh!" Sonic winced as the hand tightened around his body.

"Oh, pitiful little Sonic," Eggman began, training his free hand on the struggling cat once more as she tried desperately to ignite her flames through her soaked body and the foggy air. "I already have…"

Blaze was unable to defend herself as a stream of water rushed towards her, soaking her all over again and knocking her back up against the wall. She gasped as all the air along with any hope of using her fire abilities was driven from her body. Collapsing to the floor, Blaze splashed in the large puddle that had formed below her, unable to stop herself this time.

Eggman watched in immense satisfaction as his arch nemesis struggled in vain to escape the iron clutches of the Egg Drencher. His wife lied on the other side of the room, her fire powers rendered useless as she glared at him, slowly rising up off the floor. "I've beaten you, Sonic the Hedgehog," Eggman gloated, holding out his fist to show his nemesis his defeated spouse. "You're going to be crushed to death in my grasp, while your defenseless wifey-poo watches helplessly from the sidelines!"

"No!" Blaze cried, finally pushing herself to ignite her hands and stand tall, directly prior to being sprayed back down to her knees.

"Hmph, pathetic, Nega and I do all this work to construct this genius plan and we won't even need it!" he cackled.

Still on all fours, Blaze's head shot up at the mention of her own nemesis' name, a look of concern spreading across her face. "N-Nega?" the worried queen muttered.

"What does that fellow roach of yours have to do with this?" grunted Sonic through clenched teeth.

The metal fingers continued to grip Sonic tighter, prompting a few _cracks _and muffled screams of pain as Eggman elaborated. "Well you see, my foolish furry friends. About a year ago, Nega found out that our _favorite _couple had birthed three _beautiful_ children. Adorable bundles of joy, and a weakness to be exploited!" Blaze's eyes widened in shock at the mention of her kids, while Sonic struggled harder against his iron prison, only causing it to grip even tighter. "So Nega called me up on the good ol' interdimensional phone line - the minutes are quite expensive - and informed me of the situation, as well as a plan that, as inferior to me as Nega may be, was genius!"

Blaze stood up, the weakness in her legs slowly melting away. Her speechless form bared its fangs and clenched its fists as the despicable doctor continued his rambling.

"A simple, yet effective plan that you two boobs fell for like a kid for a candy bar! Launch an invasion serious enough to lure the two moronic monarchs away from their precious kingdom and children, just so we could kidnap them and hold them hostage for their parents' surrender!"

Blaze growled menacingly, steam beginning to pour from her body as her soaked fur and clothes simmered. Her fists clenched even harder, her glare burning a hole through Eggman's head with an intensity that would make the Colony Arc's laser jealous.

Sonic struggled in vain, ignoring the immense pain of his rib cage being crushed. "No!"

"Yes!" Eggman replied triumphantly. "But I digress. Such a plan didn't even turn out to be necessary. My mechanical marvel brought you two to your knees without it! Of course, now that we have no use for the little furballs..."

"**Shut up."**

Eggman's tangent was interrupted by a deathly growl coming from the distressed mother's direction. He whipped over to see the feline's body steaming, accompanied by exposed fangs and claws. A look of worry spread on his face before promptly being replaced with his same cocky smirk. "Hmph, or what? Turn up the heat all you want, I'll just end up soaking you again, turning you back into the helpless little kitten you are!" Eggman tapped a button, raising the Drencher's free limb and training its wrist cannon on the queen. "Any last words, my troublesome tommy?"

"**Where. Are. They?"** was the simmering, caustic response from the enraged mother.

"Hmph, interesting choice of last words!" chuckled Eggman. "You're in no place to be making demands here, _your highness_."

"**I'll give you one. Last. Chance," **the furious feline seethed like a lioness defending her cubs. "**What did you monsters do with my babies?"**

"Once again, I'm afraid I have zero incentive to tell you," the smug doctor gloated, twisting his greying mustache. "Besides, not like it matters, you and your speedy stooge of a husband are going to die here, never to see your precious little angels again!"

In a flash, the room was engulfed in a terrifyingly bright light. A mighty column of flames towered up from Blaze's location, evaporating the fog and water on and around her almost instantly. Eggman looked on in astonishment as the flames calmed, now only engulfing Blaze as she glared daggers at the despicable doctor. "**Very well then, I'll have to pry the information out of you, even if it means ripping you out of that trash can and reducing your body to ash limb by limb."**

"I…" Eggman began, a look of worry on his face. Moments later, he shook his head madly, replacing his concerned expression with his confident grin and slamming a button on his dash, ordering the arm to soak Blaze again. "Ha! No matter, I'll just…"

As the water shot out of the fingertips, the newly-supercharged Blaze shot forward, fueled by pure rage. The powerful stream surged toward her body, evaporating in the latent heat before it even made contact. Blaze burned even brighter than before, surging onward and charging through the Egg Drencher's left arm.

The piercing sound of melting, breaking metal rang throughout the room. Blaze shot out of the shoulder, hovering in the air as bits of liquified and disfigured metal crashed to the floor.

Eggman looked down to the dash of his one-armed mech. A look of terror spread across his face as he laid eyes on the final temperature reading the arm gave before being rendered completely inoperable. A reading of six thousand degrees fahrenheit. "Wh-what?!" he yelled in fear. "Impossible! That's far beyond any previous reading from her, save her transfor-"

"**I don't want to hear another word from you unless it's your surrender." **Blaze boomed from behind him, intensifying her fire once more.

In a mad attempt to shake off his fear, Eggman whipped around and slammed another glowing red button. "Not so fast, my fiery feline!"

The ferocious monarch watched as two small rocket launchers sprouted out of either side of the monstrosity's head. She merely scoffed, utterly unimpressed by Eggman's seemingly feeble attempt.

"Ha!" Eggman yelled, firing two small, quick rockets out of the launchers.

Blaze raised one arm toward each rocket, expelling scorching streams of fire from each. The rockets were hardly even slowed let alone halted as they soared through the columns of fire. She gasped, unable to manifest her realization into action in time. The projectiles hit their mark.

In an instant, the sizzle of fire being doused accompanied by the crackling of ice filled the room. Eggman's once shallow chuckles slowly graduated into evil cackles as he viewed his handiwork. Blaze crashed to the floor, the enraged look on her face immortalized in ice, along with the rest of her body. "Ha, ha, what a fool, so easily caught off guard by my cyro missiles!" crowed the doctor. Sonic continued to yell and fight against the Drencher's grip while the gloating continued. "The liquid oxygen in these babies is cold enough to turn the sun into a sauna! That along with the humidity already present in the air turned your precious idiotic autocrat into a popsicle!"

"No, don't hurt… gah!" Sonic's angry pleads were cut off by another tightening of the robot's fist, followed by the cracking of bones.

"Fat chance!" Eggman spat, bringing his remaining arm closer to the cockpit. "You're going to sit here and watch helplessly as I destroy your beloved wife, and then I'll move onto you, leaving your precious little furballs without parents, and in _our _clutches.

"No, I won't let you!" groaned Sonic as the metal barrier closed around him.

Eggman's evil howling continued as he savored his victory. "Hmm… and who knows? Maybe your kiddos will serve as fine heirs to my empire! With the proper _reprogramming, _of course."

Sonic had tuned out the mad doctor's rambling upon noticing the changes in the ice crystal. It had begun to drip and steam. His wife was far from ready to give up. "W… well Eggman, you really outdid yourself this time. You accounted for pretty much everything. Blaze's fire powers, my speed, heck, you even had a backup plan," he mustered through the pain.

"Hmph, of course I did! I'm a genius!" the doctor responded, raising his hands to the sky with a proud grin.

"But there's one thing you… didn't account for," Sonic uttered as the outer layer of ice had completely melted away, exposing a bit of Blaze's hair and part of her arms.

"And what might that be?"

"What happens when you lay a hand on a protective mommy's babies."

"What?" the confused doctor asked with a raised eyebrow. However, this confusion was momentarily replaced with fearful realization. Eggman spun the cockpit around, his gaze shooting over to the imprisoned pyrokinetic. "Wait, no!"

It was too late. With a blood boiling scream, the last of the ice exploded outward, sublimating into steam before getting near the ground. The source of this display stood to face the whimpering doctor. Burning with a fire hot enough to turn blue near the center, and their eyes devoid of anything but an inferno rage and hurt.

"Hmph, that's my girl," Sonic grinned.

"Impossible! Nothing should burn hot enough to escape temperatures that low!" the frantic Eggman yelled.

The enraged cat screamed, expanding her flames, including the egyptian blue region near the center. "**The furnace of my heart burns bright enough."  
**

**XXX**

A glaring red energy blade crashed into the blue wrist guards of its wielder's opponent. Purple sparks erupted around the clash, the ground cracking beneath the groaning target's feet.

"Hang in there, boss!" cried Charmy Bee from above, who ducked and weaved to avoid the Egg Paladin's constant shoulder cannon fire.

"Vector, look out!" yelled the defender's ally, materializing in the form of Espio from behind the multi-tasking robot.

Vector glanced over to see Espio priming an ensemble of shurikens. For a moment, they exchanged a glance, nodding to each other with a grin. He reacted in-kind. Thrusting his arms upward with all of his might, dislodging the sword just long enough for him to dash back and dodge its crushing blow.

Ninja stars flew, the Paladin whipped around, brandishing its shield to block the projectiles. They connected with the shield, and just as before, the robot turned to force Vector to take the brunt of the explosion. However, as the shield whipped around to face the crocodile, the detonation never came.

"What, expecting a boom?" Vector taunted with crossed arms. Before the robot could respond, the ninja stars did their job, exploding, but in a less expected fashion. A supercooling gas expanded out, forming an ice crystal and encasing the front of the shield, tethering it to the ground. The robot trained its optical sensor on him with an expressionless look. "Hmph! You're wide open, buddy!"

Vector went on the offensive, charging the Egg Paladin with a wound-back fist. However, when mere moments away from a connection, the robot trained its twin lasers off of Charmy and onto the crocodile. He gasped as the sudden attacks caught him off guard, barely being avoided by him, but stalling long enough for the Paladin to force its shield free and charge Vector in return.

The wind left Vector's lungs as the shield bashed into him, sending him skidding backwards, momentarily gasping for air. Luckily for him, his teammate was ready to dish out some payback. Charmy sailed down from above, landing a dive kick on the Paladin's head and stumbling it backwards. Vector watched as this gave Espio enough time to plant two explosive shurikens in the robot's back. They detonated, turning its backward stumble into a forward one. Seeing his opening at last, Vector quickly recovered and dashed at his enemy, delivering a powerful blow to the robot's stomach.

Having been knocked around like a ragdoll, the robot stumbled further before falling onto its back. A small break in the assault followed, giving it the required time to get back up and size up its opponents. The priority one target, Vector, stood about five meters away, his fist in his palm while he displayed long and frequent breaths. A clear sign of fatigue. Priorities two and three showed these same signs, with the flight of Charmy Bee having slowed as well. With all this in mind, the Egg Paladin's assessment was prepared. "**Scenario analyzed, outcome predicted. Priority targets and this unit are evenly matched, but the former will run out of stamina before this unit runs out of power Therefore, victory is assured."**

"Hah, fat chance!" Vector rebutted. "Might wanna get those loose screws of yours checked out, buddy. In fact, I know a great mechanic that would _love _to tear you apart and get a good look at you!"

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Espio replied, walking up to Vector during the break in the fighting. "The robot might have a point. Just look at us, we're tiring out and we've barely made a dent in the thing! At this rate, it might beat us before any slight advantage we have can come into play."

Charmy landed next to the crocodile, resting his wings as Vector prepared his response. "Hmph! Fine then, guess we'll just have to switch things up!" Vector pulled out a golden ring and smirked over to the bee. Knowing immediately what he meant, Charmy beamed in excitement, pulling out his own.

"Does this mean?"

"Sure does!" Vector replied, tapping a button on the golden band, connecting it with the other in a trail of yellow sparkles. "Team Chaotix, we're doing the slingshot maneuver!"

"You got it, boss!" the bee yelled in response, shooting up into the sky with the sparkling rope following him.

"Espio, be ready to follow up after the attack."

A nod of acknowledgement to the crocodile's instructions was followed by the purple chameleon slipping from sight once more.

The Egg Paladin readied its sword and shield, not sure what to think of the situation. "**Unknown tactic under employment. Initiating defensive protocols."**

"Yeah, you'd better!" Vector cheered before glancing up to his high-flying ally. "You ready Charmy?"

"Sure am!" the bee cheered. With his grasp securely on the ring, the Chaotix leader began to spin around. Charmy felt the force of it as he was yanked from the air and circled around the croc faster and faster. "Woah… woah… woah!" he shouted with the conclusion of each revolution.

Having grown wise to the Chaotix's plan, but knowing it was too late to stop them, it braced for the worst, kneeling on one knee and thrusting its shield securely out in front. Its head and sword poked out of the shield's protection. Moments later, the inevitable attack arrived, with Charmy deactivating his ring and soaring towards the unit at previously unrecorded speeds. It held firm under the kick, its shield buckling under the pressure, but staying intact, save a huge dent in the center. Furthermore, the Paladin was once again knocked onto its back.

Before the robot could recover, Espio was already looming over it, several shurikens in-hand. He fanned his arms outward, letting loose a volley of five throwing stars. The robot couldn't ready its shield in time to prevent them from embedding in its chest. A few beeps and blinks later, and they detonated.

Vector recovered from the joint-attack faster than his ally, and watched as a powerful explosion engulfed the robot, cracking the ground under its back and shallowly pushing it into the ground. As the smoke cleared soon after, he saw his chance to strike. He surged forward.

The stunned and damaged robot couldn't raise a defense as its assailant crashed down onto its chest area.

The sound of bending metal and crunching wires filled the air as Charmy concluded his recovery. He tuned in just in time to witness the aftermath of Vector's assault. The robot stumbled up, a small hitch in its get-up process. It righted itself, revealing two sizable dents on its scuffed armor, one almost perfectly centered and another near its head.

"**Damage assessment. Egg Paladin unit, systems running at eighty-one percent. Optimal response-"**

"Can it, tin can!" cried the battle-ready Vector as he charged forward once more. The robot swung its mighty sword to intercept, but it only served as a mere inconvenience to the prepared crocodile. Brandishing his left wrist guard, he pushed hard against the descending blade, deflecting it to the side and continuing his assault, right arm drawn back. Metal and wires tore, filling the battlefield with a deafening shriek. At long last, the Paladin's seemingly infallible armor was penetrated.

The priority one target dashed backwards as the Egg Paladin struggled to recover. It's glitchy optical unit struggled to maintain focus on its target, while its internals assessed its damage. A gaping hole protruded from the side of its stomach region. All systems now operated at a mean of sixty-three percent efficiency. With all this taken into consideration, a change in strategy must follow. As the Egg Paladin stood surrounded by a triangle of adversaries, it reached its conclusion, turning to face the crocodile head-on. "**Previous strategy ineffective. Threat level: Critical. New course of action: Attack targets one at a time in order of priority."**

"Huh?" a confused Vector replied, tilting his head. As an answer, the robot folded up its limbs and weapons, morphing into a ball once more and preparing to charge, spinning at insane speeds. "Oh… uh oh."

The Egg Paladin surged forward, plowing towards the crocodile before he could hope to dodge out of the way. He threw up his hands. The robot collided with them and immediately began to force him back, his shoes grinding against the tiled ground of the city square. Mere seconds later, Vector was pinned against the wall. The rolling thunder grinded against his hands, digging into the ground, tearing through his gloves, and forcing smoke from his hands. "Gah!" Vector yelled out in pain as he felt his skin burning. "Espio, do it!"

"Hang in there, Vector!" Espio cried, sprinting forward and unsheathing his blue energy knife.

Just as Vector felt his arms about to give way to the force of the robot and the sting of burning flesh, an orange line appeared straight through the middle of the robot's rotating body. The glowing streak quickly spanned its entire circumference. Moments following, Vector rapidly felt pressure lift off his arms as the robot's revolutions slowed to a crawl before ceasing entirely. Vector breathed a huge sigh of relief, removing his arms and stepping forward from his pinned position on the wall.

"**Suppression... of targets… unsuccessfu…" **was the Egg Paladin's final remark at it fell to each side in the form of two halves, having been cut in half under its own power.

Espio stood behind the sliced bot with a smirk, a dagger twirling in his hand.

"Sheesh, that was one tough bot to bust." the battered crocodile exclaimed

"You could say that again…" Charmy moaned, striding up to his two teammates, noticing Vector's wounds. "Vector, your hands!"

"Oh, this?" Vector said, forcing a grin and holding up his red palms and ruined gloves. "Nah, I'll be -grrrk!- good!" his sentences faltered as he winced in pain at an attempt to bend his fingers.

"Like heck you will, lemme see!" urged the first-aid bee.

"Fine…"

"Vector, you're gonna need medical attention if you want to avoid permanent scars…" Charmy solemnly explained. "I'm gonna bandage you up for now, but you'll have to stay put 'til we're ready to move out."

"What? No way, I've got a job to do!" protested the lead detective.

"Not like this, you don't!" Charmy corrected, pulling out a roll of bandage and delicately wrapping it around Vector's hands.

"Mmm… fine, doctor knows best, I guess," Vector grunted.

"The robots are all but dealt with, all Charmy and I have to do is clean up the last of them and ensure the citizens are safe. We'll be more than fine," added Espio.

"Alright, alright, you've made your point," replied the freshly bandaged croc.

Just then, a scream rang out in the direction of one of the square's many paths, turning the heads of the detectives.

"Are you fine staying put?"

"Pfft! No, but I'll manage," pouted Vector to the chameleon.

"We'll be back soon, try not to move your hands too much!" Charmy called back behind him while he soared towards the source of the cry. "Let's go Espio!"

Vector crossed his arms, watching his two teammates sprint and fly down the path towards the scream's source. He growled in protest, hating being left on the sidelines. "Hmph, I didn't wanna help anyway…"

**XXX**

"Woohoo, this is more like it!" Tangle cheered as she and her two teammates rampaged through the halls. Her tail, the end of it being balled into a fist, slammed through the armor of another robot, punching a hole clean through and disabling it. Beside her, Tangle's masked wife raised her Wispon. An orange bolt surged out, striking a pair of robots. "Ooo... good shot, babe!"

Whisper's light blush was concealed behind her mask as she bashfully grabbed her shoulder. The group strode on, reaching a four-way intersection. "Which way?" was her hushed query.

The couples' two-tailed navigator raised his hand to his face, peering at his watch's screen. Two red dots with a white path connecting them showed up on the blue schematics of the Faceship in the background. "Left!" Miles concluded.

With that, the couple and the fox rounded the corner, leaving a corridor of devastated bots behind. Tangle looked ahead through their sprinting, seeing a closed door at the end of the hall. "Through there?" she pointed.

"Yeah, it'll take a bit for me to hack into the door. Eggman's encryptions are a bit stronger than they used to-"

Miles' explanation was cut short by a noise behind him. The other predator of the group switched her Wispon to its blue hammer form. "Move," was her short, but effective command. The fox and lemur did as they were told, darting to the sides and letting Whisper pass, wielding her glowing weapon.

If not for that mask, Tangle could almost guarantee she'd be reminded of just how fierce her wife can appear when she's serious. With a silent bound and swing, the door was blown off its track, its two pieces blowing back into the room. The fox and lemur skidded to a halt, wide-eyed at the display as Whisper dashed in, clearing the coast before motioning for the two stunned teammates to follow.

"Here."

"Haha, encrypt _that!" _Tangle jested and she and Miles strode in, looking around the room. The constant hum of surging electricity was no-doubt caused by the glowing green chaos emerald in the middle of the room, suspended in a glass chamber spanning from below the floor to above the ceiling. Electric current flowed through the tube like a raging river. Several pistons connected to the base of the tube, sliding up and down through their own transparent chambers. Off to one side of the large, cylindrical room was a large access terminal, displaying several figures and numbers.

Miles' eyes widened in shock as they fell on one number in particular. "Oh no!"

"So… I'm guessing the part that says 'ninety seven percent charged' with a nearly full yellow bar below it is a bad thing, right?" Tangle mused to the sprinting fox.

"Sure is, this thing could be ready to fire any moment!" Miles exclaimed, having reached his destination in seconds. He kneeled down, attempting to locate the terminal's access port. "By the looks of it, I may have as little as five minutes to disable this thing before it's ready to fire. I'm gonna need to divert my undivided attention to this thing or I may not make it in time!"

"Pfft, no problem. I've got my super spouse right here with me," the

nonchalant lemur jeered, throwing her arm around Whisper. "Plus, not like we're meeting much resistance anywa-" The door opposite of the one Whisper destroyed slid open, cutting off Tangle's musing. The clank of metal feet echoed throughout the large room as a small army of robots, identical to the ones they smashed previously, filed in, weapons drawn. "Aww… me and my big mouth!"

"That's not good! Sorry guys, I won't be able to help you fend them off!" Miles apologized, plugging his watch into the terminal via the same small cable as before.

"All good my two-tailed technician. Whisper and I'h've got it covered!" was the optimistic response from the lemur. She nudged her wife with her elbow. "Whatcha' say, babe, wanna smash?" she added a seductive undertone to her innuendo.

Whisper's more profoundly flushed face was once more hidden behind her mask. "M'kay…"

The married couple dashed forward, intercepting the robots on their route to Miles. "Not so fast there, tin cans!" Tangle whipped her tail around, wrapping it around a robot and lobbing it into a group of others. They toppled like bowling pins. "Woohoo!" she cheered, until the robots promptly began to right themselves. "Oh…"

Before they could stand back up, the wolf's Wispon glowed pink. With the pull of a trigger, a volley of laser saws poured out of the barrel, swiftly chopping the quartet of robots into pieces.

By this time, Tangle had already begun with another group, forming a fist with the end of her tail and bashing a robot through the stomach. She dodged minor laser fire as two other robots trained their rifles on her from further back. "Woah! little help here?"

Whisper responded in-kind, switching to sniper mode and taking out the two ranged bots with ease.

Meanwhile, Miles' infiltration of Eggman's system was proving to be more challenging than expected. "What? No way!" he pouted as Eggman's symbol appeared on his screen once more. "Grr… it's ok Miles, you've got plenty of time," he thought out loud, calming himself and resuming his fervent tapping.

Limbs flew, hammers swung, and bolts fired. With every downed robot, another seemed to swiftly take its place. Whisper should've known that bashing in the door would've attracted unwanted attention. With a sigh, she mowed down another couple of bots with her rocket mode. Following this attack, her weapon went dark and the orange wisp popped out. "Orange?" the confused wolf queried.

"I'm sorry Whisp.' I'm just so tired." replied the orange wisp, being translated through Whisper's mask.

"Everything alright over there?" the worried Tangle asked, trying to maintain her wavering focus on the enemies while still conversing with her spouse.

"Wisps are tired."

"Yeah… I'm not… keeping at a hundred percent myself," Tangle replied through drained pants. "Yo Miles, how much longer?"

"Not long!" Miles replied, not looking up from his work until he continued. "I'm in the system now I just have to… Gah!" Miles looked up to see one of the bots looming over him, having escaped the prey and predator's round-up. It was too late to prevent the attack as its blue energy sword swung down. All he could do was helplessly dodge out of the way. The watch's cord flew out of the socket, and the weapon crashed down onto the terminal. The cracked screen violently flashed and went out just as the percentage reading switched to ninety nine. "No!" Miles whipped around, his tails slamming into the robot and sending it flying into the wall.

Tangle looked over in horror at the destroyed station, as well as the droopy fox that had manned it. "Miles, you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I can't see what's on the screen now, and the port is destroyed. I don't know how I'll stop the weapon now!" the panicking fox yelled back.

Tangle's tail pierced another robot as she turned back towards Miles. "We still have time, we can find another terminal thingy, disable it manually, someth-"

"**Egg Drainer, ready to fire in: Sixty seconds," **A computerized voice interrupted from all around the room, piercing through the sounds of breaking.

Tangle's fear-filled eyes frantically glanced around the room. She bounded over another robot and smashed its head in as she continued to try and find a solution. "Come on, Tangle. Come on, think!" she jittered. Seconds of dodging later, her eyes fell on a solution. In the center of the room, next to the suspended green gem, was a disabled, mangled robot. "Oh, screw it! Whisper, cover me!" Tangle scampered over, shooting her tail out in front of her and wrapping it around the disabled robot. "If at first you don't succeed at shutting down the Suck-O-Tron Nine Thousand, smash it!"

"Wait, Tangle no!" Miles shouted. Realizing he was too late, he bounded behind the ruined terminal, covering his head.

Using her green shield mode as protection, Whisper watched as Tangle anchored herself to the ground, whipping around with the disabled robot in-tow. It swung around like a wrecking ball, en route to its destination. With one final shout, the lemur's strong tail released its captive, sending it sailing into the electrified emerald chamber.

Shards of glass and bolts of lightning exploded from the center of the room. Tangle bounded back, acrobatically dodging the onslaught of hazards. The surge bounced throughout the room, taking out several lights and short-circuiting the majority of the remaining robot army.

As she flipped through the dimmed room to avoid a bolt of lightning, her eyes widened, falling upon a large piece of glass that was travelling straight for her midsection. In a panic, she slammed her eyes shut, forcing her hands over her stomach, ready to absorb the blow of the razor sharp shard. The impact never came.

Tangle's eyes opened to a green, transparent light. They widened further upon the realization that an arm was around her chest.

"S'okay."

She looked up to the source of the voice, none other than her wife, being quick on her feet and rushing to her rescue. "Aww… Whisper, thanks!" Tangle cooed with sparkling eyes through the chaotic explosion of lightning and glass. Whisper's mask concealed her bashful grin.

Almost as quickly as it started, the explosion ceased. The group gave a collective sigh of relief as the backup power kicked in, restoring most of the lights to the room. The last few stragglers of the robot squadron were taken out by the super-powered spouses. "Haha! Score one for the good guys!" Tangle cheered, turning to Miles. "See? I _knew _smashing it was the right way to go from the start!"

"I will admit, Tangle, that was some good quick thinking," Miles conceded, throwing up his hands before his face morphed into a smirk. "Of course, we're just lucky that destroying a live energy tube with chaos energy flowing through it didn't overload the containment system and vaporize us along with everything else within a twenty meter radius."

Tangle's smug look instantly departed, making way for a wide-eyed, embarrassed face. A drop of sweat slithered down her head as she bashfully scratched it. "Heh, heh, yeah… Good thing…"

"Should find the others…" a timid voice added, the source being Whisper, having removed her mask.

Miles acknowledged Whisper's idea as a good one, once again congratulating the girls on a job well done. Just as he brought his wristwatch to his face to locate Sonic and Blaze, the screen changed, with the watch emitting a low-volume ringtone. The call I.D. read out as Freedom H.Q. "Amy?"

"Wha', Amy's calling? I wonder what for," Tangle thought aloud, bounding over to the crafty fox and peering into the screen from behind him, with Whisper following suit in her own, more reserved, stride.

"Not sure, guess we'll find out." Miles tapped a button, accepting the call. Instantly, the "accept or decline" screen was replaced with the worried face of Amy. "Uh oh, what's the bad news?"

"_It's not bad, per-se," _Amy's electronic voice began from the other end. "_Just a little... concerned is all."_

"Well if you're concerned about Eggman and his little 'Suck-O-Matic Nine Thousand,' don't be. We sent that thing to the scrap heap that it belongs in!" Tangle mused with a dismissive hand gesture.

"_Really? That's amazing!"_ Amy began with an upbeat tone. "_But that's not the reason I called."_

"What's the scoop?" asked the curious kitsune, raising an eyebrow.

"_Just moments ago, Blaze's wristband stopped giving out readings. Right before then, it showed a heat warning, then a cold warning, then a heat warning again before finally giving out,"_ she began, clasping her hands together and staring off into space. "_I'm worried for those two."_

"Uhh… didn't you design these things to take the beating of a lifetime and still keep ticking?" the equally concerned lemur asked, holding up and pointing to her own band.

"Yeah, I did. For one of _my _wristbands to go offline, something serious must be going down. Nothing short of the photosphere of the _Sun _should be able to overwhelm these things!" replied Miles. "We should get going. Whatever's going on up there, it can't be good."

"_I'll let you guys get to it. Hopefully it's a simple malfunction but…"_ Amy trailed off.

"For once, I hope one of my inventions failed." added Miles. "I'll keep you posted, Miles, out." With a nod from the pink hedgehog on the other end, the screen switched back to the map of the Faceship. Only one red dot shone at the top now, presumably Sonic's wristband, but it would be enough for the inventive fox.

"Well, this is just all the more reason to bash some more bots and get to the top, right?" Tangle cheered, grabbing Whisper by the arm and pulling her towards the exit, eliciting an astonished jump from the unprepared wolf. "C'mon guys, let's go meet the fat man!"

Miles lowered his arm and sprinted after the couple. "Hey, wait up!"

**XXX**

The room had gone from humid as the Amazon to dry as the Sahara in minutes. The disarmed Egg Drencher still sat in the middle, trying helplessly to dodge the inferno of rage that circled the outside of the room, bathing its midsection in streams of flames. Grunts of irritation escaped Eggman's gritted teeth as he looked down to his dash, which now shined as red as the furnace outside, littered with overheat warnings. "Grr… I was so close. That meddlesome feline and her troublesome temper!"

The flames ceased, and Blaze looked upon the robot's orange, melting midsection with a destructive grin. "**Give up!" **she boomed with a tone that sent chills up even Sonic's spine. "**Or this metal monstrosity of yours shall be your tomb!"**

Eggman felt the entire cockpit shift to the right, the top half of the Drencher buckling under the stress. "Curses! This masterpiece was supposed to be the perfect counter to that pyrokinetic puma, yet she's eaten through it in mere minutes!"

"Well, you kinda asked for it this time," Sonic sneered from the mech's loosening grip.

"Silence, you-!"

With a burst of speed, Blaze was brought to a hover in front of Eggman near-instantaneously, interrupting his insult. Her hands folded on her chest, her blue fire burning as bright as ever. "**What was that you said earlier, monster? 'Any last words?" **she removed one of her hands, holding it out in front of her and charging a pure blue flame.

"Eeek!" In a panic, Eggman slammed a button, signaling for the two rocket launchers to fire again. Blaze only playfully sneered at the attempt, folding her arms once again and seemingly allowing for the rockets to hit her head-on. Steam filled the region of impact. "Haha, yes, direct hit! That foolish feline!" he cheered, leaning forward and pumping his fist in the air.

It wasn't until a few moments later that Eggman realized something was wrong. The pyrokinetic queen hadn't fallen out of the steam cloud onto the ground yet. "Wait, how? It shouldn't be possible!"

The cloud began to clear, and inside of it was a glowing orb of fire, looking completely unscathed by the scorching-subzero missiles. The raging shield lowered from the top-down, revealing its caster, looking more pissed off than affected.

"**Are you done?"**

"..."

Blaze took initiative, charging forward, straight at the Drencher's already-weakened midsection. In another panicked attempt to halt the seething mother, Eggman jerked his fist in front of him, putting Sonic in her path.

With a disgusted sneer, Blaze easily flew around the scummy trap and straight through the robot's arm. Metal whined and broke as it stood no match for the scorching temperatures. The arm fell to the ground, releasing Sonic mid-descent and allowing him the chance to jump out and escape before it crashed to the floor in a melted, disfigured heap.

Now free from the robot's death grip, Sonic clasped his chest, groaning as he felt his broken ribs underneath. The pain, however, didn't stop him from marvelling at the sight of Blaze cutting through Eggman's bot like a hot knife through butter. With only half an arm and some useless missiles to defend himself, it was only a matter of time now.

Sparks flew, and the cockpit shook around like an earthquake as Eggman felt his creation being decimated. Righting himself by grasping his chair, he slapped a small red button and held himself in front of his dash's comm system. "Orbot, Cubot, you iron ignoramuses! Fire the Egg Drainer, now! I don't care if it's fully charged, just _do it!" _

"_Uhhh… well, you see… mmm…" _was the red bot's nervous response from the other end. "_There may be a _teensy _problem with that."_

"What is it?!" Eggman spat as one of the Drencher's front legs fell to the floor.

"_Tails and his friends knocked it out!" _the yellow bot finished, in a tone far too cheerful for the occasion.

"They _what?!" _

Before the two robots could respond, the comm went silent, likely due to a malfunction from the quickly-shrinking Drencher.

"I think you've -hngh- got bigger fish to fry right now, Egghead." Sonic said in-between grunts, gesturing up towards his burning bride.

And fry was indeed the right choice of words. With one final charge, Blaze blew straight through the mech's midsection, cutting the robot clean in-two. "No!" Eggman screamed. The effect was immediate, the robot's top section fell to the side, crashing to the floor with the violent sound of metal-on-metal. The top compartment and windshield shattered, freeing the Chaos Emerald and knocking it to the floor and exposing Eggman to the scorching temperatures, and mother, outside.

The evil genius looked on in horror as the speechless sovereign approached him, appearing as a menacing black silhouette bathed in flames. "W-wait!" he stammered, scrambling out of his cockpit and to the floor. The predator's advance continued, still without a word, prompting the doctor to kneel down, pleading for his life. "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me, have mercy!"

Blaze's strides stopped, she gazed down at the pitiful display, scoffing in disgust. "**Hmph! I'm going to give you far more mercy than you deserve. Tell me where my babies are and maybe** **you'll only get off with **_**first**_ **degree burns." **

The boom of Blaze's commanding voice pierced Eggman's heart. He scurried backwards along the ground, trying to make space between him and the slow-approaching threat. His back struck the wall of the domed room, he peered to his right to see his blue arch nemesis approaching him, burying his fist in his palm with a scowl. Alas, even _he _knew when he was beaten.

Blaze approached further as Eggman scrambled to his knees once more. Covering his left wrist with his hand. "Okay, okay! I-I'll tell you!" he stammered. "I'll tell you where they are, just please don't hurt me!"

"**You have. Five. Seconds," **Blaze commanded.

"They're… They're!" Eggman began, his worried face melting into one of deceit as he twisted the band on his right wrist. "Not here!"

Blaze's eyes widened. "**Don't you **_**dare!" **_She dove as fast as she could as the floor opened up, swallowing Eggman and the yellow Chaos Emerald whole. The opening closed up just as Blaze's dive reached its mark. Her hands clasped around what was now nothing but emptiness. The evil doctor's chuckling slowly faded away as he descended further into the belly of the Faceship.

"He… got away?" a wide-eyed Sonic muttered, his fist clenching.

"**No…" **Blaze grumbled, rising to all fours and staring down at the ground in shock and regret. "**No, no, NO!" **Her fists smashed against the metal floor with all the force of a crashing meteor, shooting a monsterous obelisk of blue and orange flames up through the ceiling and producing a molten crater.

Sonic dashed back to avoid his devastated wife's sudden outburst, narrowly avoiding being consumed by the inferno. The flames died, and the sizzle of molten metal began to subside, slowly being overtaken by the intense sobbing of a heartbroken mother. Blaze's fire burned no more. Her completely melted wristband laid in a blue heap beside her, and not even her specialized clothes had been able to take the heat, being burned and discolored at the edges. A waterfall of tears poured from her eyes as she laid on all fours. Restraining his own anger and heartbrokenness for her sake, the loving husband approached cautiously. "Blaze?"

"I…" the feline began, slamming her fists back into the metal. "I can't believe they did this!" she cried.

Sonic approached, his feet making contact with the still-glowing metal. He winced as he felt the intense heat travel through his shoes, but continued on nonetheless. "Dear… it'll be alright," he passionately assured, kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"They won't get away with this."

**XXX**

The huge metal door bursted off its track. Its two pieces went flying into the room, crashing against the metal floor beside the ruined Egg Drencher. Tangle dashed in following her wife's blue-powered handiwork. "Yahoo! Team 'T.T.W. to the rescue…" her originally cheerful tone faded away as her eyes fell on the two figures they'd come here to find. Sonic stood tall, holding his ribcage with a wince, while he supported the weight of his beloved wife. The lavender feline carried an expression that the lemur had never seen in her before. Gone was the stoic posture and fire in her eyes. In its place was an almost lifeless look, one of complete and utter defeat… "Are… you guys alright?"

Sonic looked up to the group, barely able to squeeze out a sentence. "No. We're not."

"What happened, Sonic?!" Miles exclaimed, running up to the couple and giving his big brother some much-needed support.

"We'll fill you in on the way back," the mangled monarch sputtered. "We need to get back to Freedom H.Q. Now."

**XXX**

All Sonic the Hedgehog characters and concepts are owned by SEGA. All original characters, as well as the AU concept as a whole is by Sonicxfan64 on DeviantArt.


	4. Cinders

A bitter, not-so-sweet victory led to a hushed, solemn plane ride back to Freedom H.Q. The team's hopes of any sort of celebration were squashed with the reveal of their greatest enemy's despicable acts. Now, the hum of the Hurricane III's engines was all that occupied the cabin as the raging sea zipped by below.

Sonic glanced around the eerily quiet plane, his hands in two of many holes in his tattered, singed vest. Following seeing the looks of defeat and disappointment on his friends' faces, his eyes fell on his beloved wife. Her head slanked down in front of her slouching body. On it, a look of pain and bitterness unlike any the hedgehog had seen in her before.

"I…" Vector began, breaking the silence, "wonder what's gonna come of Eggman's escape now. We've downed his Faceship and disabled his weapon. Where'll he even retreat to?"

"He got the Chaos Emeralds…" a battered Blaze sneered, suddenly springing to life at the mention of her tormentor's name. "He's probably left to rendezvous with Nega to enact the next stage in his sick, twisted plan." She pushed off her knees with her hands and stood up straight, finishing her spiteful remark. "Which is why it's all-the-more imperative that we return to my dimension at once and capture Nega before that can happen."

Sonic nodded, grunting in agreement. "What Eggman's pulled this time is unforgivable. Once we catch him, and we _will _catch him, he's going in a box and I'm personally throwing away the key!"

"Woah, now," Vector began in protest, holding up his bandaged hands. "After all you two, _everyone,_ just went through, you wanna go charging right back into an obvious trap? I don't think so! We're in no condition to be staging another offensive now!"

"And do you have a _better _plan?" Blaze scoffed.

"We go back to Freedom H.Q., we rest up, and we form a plan," asserted the injured crocodile. Upon seeing Blaze's piercing glare, Vector's demeanor shifted. "Look, I understand how you feel-"

"Understand how I _feel_?" Blaze seethed, steam beginning to seep from her clothing as she continued. "How could you _possibly _understand how I feel, what we're going through? Have you ever had all three of your children ripped away from you by a murderous psychopath?!" No response came from the taken aback group. Solid metal had nothing on the thickness of the air inside the cabin as Blaze finished. "My kids are in danger, and there's no way I'm going to waste a single _second_ licking my wounds like an injured kitten while they're in the hands of those monsters!"

The group's foxy pilot, silent up until this point, engaged the autopilot and whipped around in his chair. "I'm with Vector on this one. Everyone's exhausted, Sonic has three broken ribs, _you _have symptoms of heat stroke after how far you pushed your pyrokinesis, and not to mention you and Sonic's mental state!"

"Hmph, 'mental state'? What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic mused, interrupting in protest.

"Don't even try and deny it, Sonic," Miles rebutted with crossed arms. "You two's anger, justified as it may be, is gonna get you _killed _if you just choose to act on it irrationally! You need time to simmer down, clear your heads a little."

"Hmph! I easily crushed Eggman once, and I'll do it again!" spat the distraught feline. She glanced over to her husband, looking for his support and receiving it in the form of a confident nod.

"I wouldn't call broken ribs and a heat stroke 'easy," Miles fired back, getting out of his chair. "Your brute force approach may have squeezed out a win this time, but knowing Eggman, he and Nega'll more than ready for it the next time around. Not to mention the Chaos Emeralds that, since they disappeared from the Faceship with Eggman's escape, we can assume he has!"

Blaze's steaming intensified. "So what? We just sit here applying bandages to our booboos and going to therapy while those two obese freaks hold our children over our heads?!" she snapped.

"And we speculate on what those two 'obese freaks' might have in store for us, along with coming up with a _plan_ to stop them!"

"I'm not going to wait that long!" snarled the fierce queen.

"You don't exactly have a choice!" Miles argued back, his voice raising against her's. "I'm not gonna let you and my best friend go kill yourselves! Without the Sol Emeralds, _my _gateway technology is the only way you're going back, and you're not getting to it 'til we're prepared. That's final!"

The room went eerily silent once more. The Hurricane III surged on as Blaze glared daggers at its pilot. It was only after what seemed like forever that a seething growl finally cut through the hum of the engines.

"If you're not going to give me what I need to reach my children, I'll just have to _take it," _The enraged mother began a prowl towards the two-tailed fox. A flame formed in her right hand as it rose to her side. The engineer responded in-kind, readying his tails and fists and glaring back at his opposition.

"Hey, hold it!" an agitated lemur screamed from across the cabin, bounding over to Miles' side along with her wolfy wife. "Miles is just trying to help, you're not gonna lay a finger on him!"

"An aid of the enemy is the enemy," Blaze spat in reply without a break in her stride.

The bickering continued, with the tension in the room rising to a boil. More avid defenders rushed to Miles' side, giving their two-sense regarding the enraged mother's actions.

"Is a plane going three hundred miles an hour above an ocean really a place we wanna start a fight?!" protested Vector.

"Four hundred and ten," corrected Miles. "And it doesn't look like we have much of a say in the matter, since her royal highness is adamant on enacting her death wish!"

"Oh, you _do _have a choice. Either give me what I need or..." Blaze's demand was cut short as she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, halting her advance. Instinct demanded that she whip around, ready to roast the hand's owner. However, she stopped in her tracks upon seeing who it was. "Sonic, what do you think you're doing? Can't you see we're being held hostage?!"

"Dear, listen… I," Sonic trailed off, taking his distraught wife's hand in his. "Maybe Tails is right. We're pretty beat up, and no matter how hot you manage to burn, they're gonna be ready for it this time."

Suddenly, all of Blaze's rage shifted from Miles and his defenders onto one person. Her hand whipped away from Sonic's as her rage and confusion poured out. "I can't believe you're okay with waiting to rescue our children!"

Sonic took a deep breath, keeping a tight rein on his strong emotions. "Look, Dear. I hate it as much as you do, trust me. But for once, it's my turn to be the 'plan guy.' If we charge in now, we'll get captured, or worse! What could we do for Dash, Blaura, and Sonash then?"

Blaze's gaze met the floor, her being unable to bear making eye contact with Sonic as immense pain drove her to say the unthinkable. "_Well, maybe you just don't love them the way I do."_

Instantly, the cabin fell from the brink of meltdown to absolute zero.

"Blaze…" was all Sonic could weakly muster in lieu of the piercing accusation.

Team Freedom watched as Blaze spun around and stumbled towards the hangar, desperately holding back tears and leaving a devastated husband in her wake as the steel door slid shut behind her.

Painfully long seconds ticked by. The monarch stood petrified, asif a cold stone had breached his heart, with the rest of the team not faring much better.

After what felt like an eternity, he felt a gentle hand fall on his shoulder. "It's alright, Sonic. There's no way she meant that," he immediately recognized the voice of his long-time friend and little brother.

Sonic couldn't believe his ears. Even after his wife had essentially threatened to _kill _the young fox, he was still there for him. He turned to face the brother he never had. "I'm sorry," was all the hedgehog could reply with.

"Hey, it's alright! You two are in a lot of pain, physically _and _emotionally," Miles assured.

"I'm with Foxy on that. I won't hold it against'cha!" Tangle chimed in.

Sonic felt his spirit lifting ever so slightly as several more words of assurance flew his way. As the realization of fortune hit him, he donned a warm, appreciative smile. "Thanks for being here guys, this means the world to me."

"Hey, don't mention it! I don't wanna speak for anyone else, but I'd reckon that, after all you've done for us over the years, we owe you at least _one _life threatening rescue mission!" Miles grinned back.

The hedgehog chuckled in response. "Yeah, I guess so. Speaking of being there for people…" he began with a sudden shift in his tone. "There's someone _I _need to be there for."

**XXXX**

In the dimly-lit hangar of the Hurricane III, quiet sobbing and the hum of engines joined in a solemn symphony. The source of the former sat on the cold floor in the corner, her lavender head buried in her knees. "Blaura, Dash, Sonash, I'm… sorry," she stammered through her tears.

The mechanical hiss of the door sliding open marked the end of Blaze's lonesome brooding. The feline raised her head to see the visitor as light poured into the otherwise-dark hangar from the open doorway. The silhouette standing in the doorway was one she immediately recognized, and it drove a knife of shame through her heart. Her head retreated back into her knees.

Sonic took an ever-so-gentle approach towards his comfort-needing wife. The hedgehog knew it would take all the emotional strength he had left to provide the comfort she needed. Soon, he was standing next to her. With an exhausted sigh, Sonic twisted around and took a seat to Blaze's left. "Hey, dear."

The gentle, calm greeting was met with no visible response. The guilt of questioning her husband's love for their kids, along with an ensemble of other emotions swirled around her, threatening to pull her under, like a vessel stuck in a whirlpool. A sniffle was her only response. Moments later, Blaze tensed up as she felt a warm appendage rest itself on her unmoving body. The comfort of this simple gesture was greater than she could imagine.

The blue blur sat motionless and patient, not prying or prodding and instead only offering to be the comfort in his wife's time of need. But after what felt like minutes, he opted to cut through the light hum of the engines. "Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

Actions spoke louder than words. In a swift motion, Blaze broke her balled-up position and leapt to her left, nearly tackling her husband to his back had it not been for him catching himself with his hand. He winced in pain as he felt her pushing against his broken ribs, but refused to mention it. The lavender ruler wound her arms tightly around him. As Blaze's broken-toned speech began, Sonic wrapped his arms around her in response.

"I'm… so sorry for what I said earlier!" she stammered into her spouse's chest. "I know you love our children just as much as I do; I know you and the others are right about needing a plan; and I know I was a fool!"

"Hey, hey. You're not a fool!" Sonic assured, stroking the queen's forehead. "It's not like I've never said anything in the heat of the moment that I regret later."

"I'm just… so terrified_." _Blaze conceded. An admittance very unlike her. "More than I've ever been…"

"I'm scared too," the speedy monarch replied. "Blaura, Dash, Sonash, _you. _They all mean the world, no, _both _worlds to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you guys, and I'd throw myself through anything if it meant keeping you safe."

A momentary look up and appreciative smile was followed by Blaze's head retreating back into her husband's chest. "Thank you…"

Blaze's gratuitous words drifted off, merging with the ambient sounds around them until they became lost entirely. She slowly felt the weight lifting off her shoulders as Sonic held her, caressing her head and back affectionately.

"Anything I can do to help lift your spirits?" asked the caring husband.

Sonic's gentle, compassionate voice wove its way through Blaze's heart, sending waves of warmth and comfort through her body. After she'd finished falling in love with him all over again, she fell on a simple demand. "Just promise me everything will be alright."

Sonic met Blaze's request with a light, loving chuckle. "I promise, Blaze. We're gonna get them back and lock those deranged doctors up for good. Sonic the Hedgehog stops at _nothing _'til his loved ones are safe."

Once again, Blaze was reminded why she fell in love with the tenacious hedgehog in the first place. Longing for more comfort, she nestled further against the fur of her king's chest. An almost unnoticed wince came from the hedgehog.

"Are you alright?" a disappointed, but concerned Blaze asked, prying herself away.

"Y… yeah, sorry," Sonic replied, rubbing his tender midsection. "It's just, y'know, with the broken ribs and everything…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Blaze replied, guiltily wrapping her arms around herself. "How inconsiderate of me…"

"Hey, hey, it's alright!" the blue monarch insisted, putting on his exhausted smile once again. "If a little pain is what it takes to see you smile, then so be it."

"That would be selfish of me," stated Blaze, refusing to accept Sonic's offer.

The speedy spouse grinned in reply. Seeing little hints of the wife he knew and loved poking through the raging sea of emotion. "I'll tell you what. My ribs are only broken on one side. Why don't you just…"

Not needing any further instruction, Blaze stood herself up and strode to the other side of the grounded hedgehog. In another careful, but eager motion, she lowered herself and leaned in to her right, once again wrapping her arms around Sonic's body and nestling her head in his chest.

"Is this better?" asked the longing feline.

"Yeah…" replied Sonic, returning Blaze's gesture. "Much better."

The response was a relaxed sigh as Blaze felt more of the tension flow out of her body. She practically melted into her caring husband, her breaths syncing up with his rises and falls.

"I love you, Sonic the Hedgehog."

**XXXX**

A blue-green luminescence frantically danced around the room. The crimson and yellow-lined metal walls, plastered with tools, blueprints, and display screens, reflected the light, sending it back toward its source, a mighty clash of energies.

As the electric shriek of the battle between two differently-colored bolts of lightning simmered down, so-too did the bright light emanating from it. They retreated to their respective pedestals, leaving two evil geniuses to bask at the sources, a green Chaos Emerald and yellow Sol Emerald, each suspended in a glass dome atop the steel cylinders.

"Well, Nega, it appears our theory was correct!" Eggman announced with a grin, examining the results on his accomplice's computer terminal. As the readings flowed in, the blue screen lit up, revealing several graphs, each growing exponentially as their red lines danced across the x-axes.

The voice of Eggman's derivative cut through the tapping of a keyboard. "Indeed it was, my almost-as-bright friend. When the Chaos and Sol emeralds are brought together, their energy output doesn't just stack additively, it multiplies exponentially!"

"Now that our hypothesis has been proven correct, we can move on to my _favorite _part of the scientific method!" Eggman sneered. "The experimental phase!"

"Indeed so. Only when we find the limits of these powers and how to properly control them can we properly apply them…"

"Apply them to our little _pest _problem?" the doctor smirked, cutting Nega off.

A few more taps prompted the two gems to recede back into their holding chambers. The screen's display shifted to a solid blue with a red bar in the center, rapidly filling to full before being replaced by a notification.

'Data Transfer Complete'

"But of course! Only when those officious furballs are out of the way can we be free to conquer _both _worlds!" the derivative replied.

"We should've teamed up to exterminate those vermin years ago!" Eggman cheered.

"Maybe, but only recently have that fiery feline and hateable hedgehog developed such an easily exploitable weakness," reminded Nega, stepping away from his computer and towards the room's jet black metal door with his hands poised behind his back.

Eggman swiveled and strode to catch up to his ally. "Hmm… a good point. Those little brats are our surefire key to victory! And how easy it was to lure away their idiotic autocrat parents to nab them!"

"Like taking catnip from a kitten," Nega sneered diabolically as his other self followed him through the now-opened doorway. "Speaking of which, how are those little monsters doing?"

"Why not see for ourselves?" offered Eggman. Noticing a grunt and nod of agreement from his not-at-all-superior counterpart, he brought his wrist to his face and ringing up his mechanical henchmen on his teched-out wristwatch's display. "Orbot, Cubot, prepare our _valued guests _and their holding cell for our arrival!"

"_You got it, boss!" _was a yellow bot's excited reply from the other end, barely being heard over the insufferable cries of infants.

With a growl, Eggman tapped another button on his watch, hanging up the call. As the two villains walked down the hornet-palleted corridor, Eggman inquired as-to whether or not the infants had given Nega any trouble, especially regarding their mother's pyrokinetic traits.

As an elevator door at the end of the hall opened up, inviting its two passengers, Nega quased Eggman's concerns. None of the children had displayed any anomalous temperature readings. Any wrench in their plans involving the furballs' heat abilities was highly unlikely.

After a speedy elevator ride, the doors swung open. Immediately, the interior was invaded by a symphony of cries and wails. Eggman and Nega's hands flew to their ears. "You iron ignoramuses, turn off that racket!"

The redder of the two mechanical minions complied to their creator's order, tapping a panel on the side of the wall. Instantly, the crying seemed to cease.

"Why didn't you two imbeciles enable the noise filter ages ago?" growled Eggman as his associate followed him out of the elevator.

"I dunno, you didn't ask us to," the yellow bot shrugged.

"You didn't program us to perform duties beyond your orders, sir," Orbot added.

"I shouldn't have to…" Eggman cut himself off, bringing his palm down his annoyed face. "Whatever, just keep it on from now on, understand?"

"Yessiree!" replied Cubot with a salute.

The doctors strode up to a cell embedded in the right of the wall and looked inward. "I trust my genius containment units are serving their purpose?"

"Indeed, sir. Everything is functioning within your specified parameters. The bio scanner has detected no anomalies, and your special nutrient-enriched air is keeping the infants alive and healthy." Orbot explained to his master's counterpart.

"And we're on diaper duty!" cheered Cubot.

Eggman laid his eyes on Nega's infant-holding handiwork for the first time. Inside the cold, steel box of a cell were three containment units, all housing one of his hated enemy's beloved children. The obnoxious infants laid on the padded floors, while a glowing green line, presumably his acommplace's bio-scanner, ran over them from the ceiling. All three appeared to be wailing madly, but, thanks to Eggman's volunteered noise cancellation technology, no sound could be heard. All the more pleasing to the sadistic doctor. "Excellent work, Nega! I, of course, don't at all care about the well-being of the runts, but your apparatus will suffice in keeping them alive long enough to serve as suitable hostages."

"Indeed so," Nega motioned for Eggman to follow him as he strode back to the elevator. "Now, enough wasted time on these excuses for children. Come, we have important matters to discuss. The readouts you provided from your encounter with that foolish feline have proven quite useful in perfecting my latest mechanical masterpiece!"

Eggman complied, taking position next to his counterpart and striding into the elevator. "Ah yes, I've seen your schematics and can't wait to get my hands on the prototype! Does it have a name yet?"

"Yes, but it's nothing special. A possible placeholder, of sorts," explained Nega as the door slid shut in front of them with a mechanical hiss, allowing the lift to begin its journey. "I was thinking… the Egg Vanquisher."

**XXXX**

The hum of medical equipment and whirr of a scanner reverberated throughout the Freedom H.Q. Medlab as its designer and his patient made use of it. The latter had laid on the table as they were told. With the white walls doing little to counteract the already-bright light fixtures of the room, they squinted down at their red and white shoe and the metal arc stretching over them. "Alright doc, give it to me straight. Am I gonna make it?" the figure jested, turning their head to face the team's two-tailed physician.

"It's a pretty simple procedure, Sonic. Just a simple bone repair," chuckled the yellow fox in reply. His fingers danced along a keyboard as he stood to his patient's side, his eyes staring down at the grey table's computer terminal.

"Pff! I'd imagine it would be, considering half the room is patented by a genius fox with 300 I.Q. and five P.H.D.s!" Sonic joked, looking around the lab and reexamining the countless pieces of medical equipment that he couldn't even dream of _spelling _let alone designing, along with his replaced red and white vest that remained draped atop one of them.

"It's not that big a deal, I'm just like any other inventor, really!" insisted Miles.

Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "Dude, whoever this 'Any Other Inventor' person is, he's gotta be pretty fantastic if he can compare to a guy who was building planes and defusing bombs as a child and getting his _first _doctorate at age 15. Not to mention you're giving me a procedure that does in one day what getting cut open and moping around in a cast did in months!"

Feeling a light blush creeping onto his cheeks, Miles glanced up from his work. "Heh, I guess I _am _pretty amazing…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Y'got that right. _Little bro," _teased Sonic.

Just as a beep sounded from the terminal, Miles ceased his typing. "Sonic, you know I'm not a little kid anymore, right?" he asked half-jokingly.

The speedy monarch raised and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh relax, Tails. You know I'm only yankin' your chain."

"I know, not like I mind it. Reminds me of the good old days…" Miles reminisced before immediately righting himself and tapping a button, beginning phase one of the procedure. "Hold still for this next part."

A green light focused down from the arc at Sonic's feet. He did what he was told, allowing the arc's luminescent bar to trace along his body. "Yeah, I miss' em too sometimes. Running around without a care in the world; Cracking open Doctor Egghead's latest 'machine of the week'; Things sure were different back then, but…"

"But…?" Miles pressed as the machine completed its scan and retreated back to the foot of the table, feeding the results back to him. With another push of a red button, the second phase began, the bar turning to a bright red and journeying back up the hedgehog's body.

Sonic stared up at the ceiling. "Now I'm buckled down! I've got an awesome wife, three kids, an entire _kingdom_ to look after… It's a lot to handle, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Following a short pause, the bar stopped at Sonic's chest and continued at a snail-like pace. "Plus, I still find time to loosen up the ol' legs from time to time, especially when discount Eggman attacks. Heh, heh…"

"Sonic, try not to laugh, you'll throw off the machine's calibration."

"Oh, sorry," replied the blue blur, feeling the odd sensation of his bones being moved and welded into place inside him.

Miles watched the screen and the procedure continued. A 3-D-modeled image of Sonic's rib cage filled the screen, with red fractured areas lighting up purple as his machine repaired the damage.

Eventually, the awkward silence broke. "Speaking of your family…"

"Huh?" asked Sonic, looking over.

"Is Blaze… gonna be alright?"

Sonic's smile faltered. "I…" it returned. "Of course she will! You think she'd tolerate being stuck with _me_ for seven years if she didn't know how to deal with the unexpected? Nah."

"This isn't the same and you know it, Sonic," Miles argued. "Please, stop trying to act tough and be honest with me. Is she gonna be okay?"

In an instant, the hedgehog's easy-going demeanor retreated, not to return. With a face devoid of humor or nonchalance, Sonic looked his friend dead in the eye. "Miles, it'll be fine. She'll be pretty shaken up for a while, we all will be." A small, sincere smile returned to Sonic's face. "But Blaze is one resilient mamma. Once we're back together as a family, I have no doubt she'll be back to her old self in no time!"

Just then, the machine beeped, signaling to its operator that the procedure was complete. "Alright Sonic, I believe you," replied Miles, entering a command, prompting the metal arc to zip back down to its resting position at Sonic's feet. "It's finished."

Allowing his usual persona to return, Sonic immediately swiveled and sat up on the table. "Woah, talk about urgent care!" he jested, immediately noticing the difference as he stretched his arms.

Miles watched Sonic hop off the table and grab his jacket as he explained the side effects to him. He'd be tender for a bit, but after a good night's rest he should feel brand new.

"Thanks, doc!" grinned Sonic.

"Anytime," Miles began as the two turned to make their leave. "_Big brother."_

**XXXX**

"_Outta the ordin'ry?" _an orange and brown raccoon on Freedom H.Q.'s main view screen reiterated in her signature Australian accent.

"Yes, Marine. As-in, any signs of where Nega might have headed after his assault?" Blaze questioned, having changed into a fresh pink sweater and white leggings.

"_Fraid not, love,"_ replied Marine, adjusting her white Royal Navy uniform. "_Ol' Nega made it bloody impossible to pursue'im thanks to the beatin' he gave our ships and mates. I tell ya' sheila, that huge battleship'a his sure packed a wallop! Had ornament like you wouldn't believe and-"_

"What's the status of the kingdom at-large, and where's Gardon?" interrupted Sonic, stepping up from the group of gathered Freedom Fighters to join his wife in front of the view screen.

"_The castle's a wreck. Nega damn near tore it down tryna' find what he was afta'. The citizen'ry's pretty shaken up. Heard a lil' talk about the king and queen abandoning 'em, some rumors of anotha' attack here and there," _Marine's report paused, giving her a moment to remove her captain's hat and glance away. "_Far as our mate Gardon goes, he's… crippled, but stable."_

"Gardon…" was the sole response from Blaze, mimicking the raccoon captain's tone.

"_You shoulda' seen him, love. Found him in the safe room knocked out'n pretty banged up. Steel door was cut clean through. Poor bloke must'a fought with everything'e had…" _replied the solemn captain, fiddling with one of her rank pins.

"I'd expect nothing less from my most loyal and trusted guardsman," Blaze replied, crossing her arms.

"Did you manage to get any sort of tracker on the ship?" asked Sonic

"_We did, but we lost signal shortly afta'. Must'a been some sorta' jammer on the bloody thing!" _a frustrated Marine replied. "_Best I can offer ya' is our security footage, 'long with what the tinny's packin'."_

"Proceed."

Marine heeded her queen's instructions, tapping a few buttons, presumably on a terminal beneath her.

"_They're on their way, mate!"_ replied Marine.

Moments later, a small beep on the main room's center console signaled to the Freedom Fighters' leader that the files were received. Amy jogged over and confirmed the transfer. "Got it, thanks Marine!" she confirmed.

"_Of course, sheila! Anything to help knock those dipsticks in't'next week!"_ said Marine, finishing with a snarl.

A few taps on the center console's panel prompted a hologram of the ship to shoot out of the center, painted with the same blue as before with its large ensemble of weapons highlighted in red.

"_Good luck, mates!"_ wished Marine, prompting the group to reciprocate and give words of thanks.

"_Any orders, your majesties?"_ the navy captain asked, turning to her king and queen.

"Keep remaining ships on-patrol, but do _not _engage the enemy, should you see him. Not only would you more than likely be crushed and suffer more casualties, but you may inadvertently harm their hostages." commanded Marine's queen, clenching her fists at the mention of her enemies' leverage.

Marine acknowledged Blaze's commands and gave a salute before the monitor blinked, returning to the terminal's main screen.

"Alright team, listen up!"

The team turned to face the origin of the command. Amy stood next to the center console, beckoning to the projection of the two mad doctors' ship.

Tangle was especially captivated by the incredible size and scope of the bullet-shaped vessel, displayed as being four hundred meters long and one hundred thirty meters wide. "Woah, that thing's even bigger than the Faceship!" she exclaimed.

"This would explain the lack of attacks from Nega…" the Sol Kingdom's blue monarch thought aloud.

"We've got about two hours to come up with a plan to infiltrate this thing and take it down before we rest up for our move in the morning! Any suggestions?" continued Amy.

"Well, the armaments on the thing'll make any direct assault impossible!" began Vector, pointing out the vast array of anti-aircraft and sea-defense cannons. "Aside from all these, we've got no idea what kind of reinforcements could be inside that thing!"

With a lightbulb illuminating in her head, an enthusiastic Tangle chimed in. "Oh, oh! What about an underwater attack? We could avoid the cannons and slip onboard undetected!"

"No," the lemur's wolfy spouse murmured, shaking her head. "S'very advanced and large. Will have sub defense."

"Awww…" Tangle's ears flattened, along with her face.

"Wait, doesn't Miles use some kind of dimensional portal thingy to get between dimensions in the first place?" asked an equally-as-enthusiastic Charmy Bee. "Why don't we just use that to hop right onto the ship?"

"My portal fabrication technology runs on the same principle that my interdimensional communication system does." Miles replied, pointing to the monstrous vessel. "If that thing's got a signal jammer, getting on with a portal won't be a viable option."

"I've got it!" Amy chimed in, holding up an index finger in realization and turning to Miles. "I may not be as techy as you, Miles, but in my years as team leader I've learned a thing or two about communication and signal blocking!"

"Elaborate," prompted the intrigued fox.

"Modern-day signal jammers usually operate by disrupting hundreds of frequencies per second on an almost random pattern. However, there's one frequency that our psychotic doctors _can't _jam!" Amy explained, having her thought finished by Miles.

"The signal they use for _their _communications, of course!" Miles thought aloud, grasping his chin.

"Well it should be pretty simple, then. All we've gotta do is find the right frequency, portal in, and boil some eggs!" cheered Tangle.

"It's not quite as simple as that," Amy frowned. "Unless they've got outgoing signals, there's no way we'll be able to trace the frequency without getting in… uncomfortably close."

"Plus, they may be nuts, but this is still _Eggman and Nega _we're talking about," Miles interjected. "Whatever they've got, it's probably not your average everyday system. I'm sure they've got a modulator set up."

"Meaning that grabbing it for a second won't be enough, it's probably changing constantly…" Amy finished.

The two-tailed genius already had a solution in mind. "So we'd have to send someone in ahead of time to plant a frequency tracker on the ship and feed the results back to us."

Several more exchanges regarding the best course of action ensued, with the group eventually coming to a consensus, approving Miles and Amy's plan.

"Ahem!" came a grunt from the outskirts of the group. The collaborating members turned to face Espio, who finished his statement with crossed arms. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here? We don't even know where the thing _is _yet!"

If not for the hum and beeps of electronics, one could a pin drop. Team Freedom stood with mouths agape, undoubtedly astounded at the oversight.

Miles' palm flew to his face. "I can't believe we didn't think of that!"

Charmy grabbed his chin, humming in contemplation. "Well, the thing's huge! It's not like it'll be _hard _to find."

"I wouldn't be so sure," chimed in Blaze. "Marine's fleets have been on the patrol ever since the attack, yet they've come across nothing."

"How could a ship so huge conceal itself so quickly?" asked the team leader, placing their hands on their hips.

"A cloaking system, perhaps?" proposed Espio.

"Because of how ships displace water, it'd likely render any cloaking device impractical. They'd look like a hole in the ocean," countered Miles. "There must be some other reason…"

"Regardless of the reason, there's a solution," the purple chameleon replied. "I'm sufficiently trained in tracking and stealth. I'll be the one to locate the vessel and plant the device."

"You sure, Esp?" the uncertain Chaotix leader asked.

"There's no one more qualified, you know that, and…" trailed Espio, gesturing to the co-rulers of the Sol Kingdom. "These two have performed endless acts of good throughout my time knowing them. The very least I can do in repayment is offering my skills in their time of need."

"Thank you," smiled Blaze, receiving a nod in response from the ninja.

"Not to darken the mood but…" Tangle began, stepping forward. "The ocean's pretty big. No matter how good a tracker Espio is, how in the world are we gonna-"

The ring of the H.Q. 's main monitor cut Tangle short. Her and the rest of the team turned to see Eggman's logo splayed across the screen.

"It's… Eggman?!" growled Blaze, clenching her fists.

Suppressing her nerves, Amy strode over and accepted the transmission. Immediately, the cartoon silhouette of Eggman's face disappeared, replaced with a recording him and his counterpart.

"_Hello, Freedom Fools!" _a cheerful Nega sneered. "_I trust by now that you're all aware of the… _valued guests _we have in our possession!" _With an evil chuckle, the two doctors separated, revealing a steel room, housing three glass-domed pedestals. Though the high-resolution imagery, the entire group could easily see the contents.

"My babies!" shouted Blaze, baring her fangs as she laid eyes on her three children. Their typical baby clothes had been replaced by black and red outfits with Eggman's logo stamped on the chests. They shook about, appearing to be wailing in distress, but emanating no sound.

"Amy, the signal!" Miles exclaimed, prompting a nod and swivel from Team Freedom's leader as she began feverishly trying to trace the signal.

Indifferent to the interjections, the two villains' recorded message continued. "_If you two autocratic imbeciles ever want to see your precious little bundles of joy again, you'll listen very carefully…" _Eggman began, allowing his accomplice to complete his statement and joining him back at the center of attention.

"_You will have twenty four hours to give your unconditional surrender, which will include your detainment, and your signing over of the Sol Kingdom over to _me."

An enraged snarl escaped Blaze's clenched teeth as the doctors continued, brandishing their achievements and supposedly superior intellect. "You will **not **get away with this…"

Eggman stuck up his index finger with a smirk. "_And don't try anything silly! We've prepared for every possible contingency this time around, including the little wifey-poo's tantrums!" _

"I've got it!" Amy cheered, whipping around and excitedly waving her hand in the air.

"_Remember, twenty four hours _or else, _toodaloo!" _Nega grinned.

The recording concluded, with the large screen returning to its default state. Amy prepared to dismiss the team, noticing Blaze's display of distress and agony. "We… should go make final preparations and rest up for the morning. I'll see you all later."

The team members gave their farewells, heading off in several directions, presumably to their rooms, leaving Sonic and his hurting wife alone.

At the edge of the mother's eyes, tears still remained poised to make their move and come flooding out at any moment. As her fists remained clenched, she felt a familiar comforting grip on her shoulder.

"We're gonna get them back, dear. I already promised you, we will," came the consoling voice of the blue hedgehog.

"I'll die before we don't"

**XXXX**

A pervasive sound resembling that of logs going through a mill echoed throughout one of Freedom H.Q. 's guest bedrooms. A restless lavender cat, having changed into her nightgown, lied in bed with her husband, the blue blur. As-per usual, his snoring was a sight to behold. However, having gotten used to her dear husband's sleeping habits long ago, this was not what kept her awake.

Sighing in defeat, an exhausted Blaze left the king's side and strode over to the open window. Observing the crescent moon as its beams poured through the room. Anxiously, she hugged herself, a whirlpool of uncertainty swirling through her sea of thoughts.

As the seconds ticked by, her lone contemplation was brought to a halt upon the sound of rustling covers. "Go back to sleep, you need your rest," she said, her eyes remaining glued on the night sky.

"Like you're one to talk, _you're_ the one who woke me up," teased the awoken hedgehog, his feet and stomach now without dress. "You need your beauty sleep, too. Emphasis on the 'beauty."

"I'm sorry," was the solemn response.

"Nothing to be sorry about, what's keeping you?" asked the concerned spouse.

"I'm worried to death… What if those two menaces aren't even telling the truth? What if they plan to do away with our children even if we meet their demands? What if they've already…"

"Hey!" Sonic asserted, shooting up from his bedside sitting position. "What do you think you're doing, talking like that? Doom and gloom isn't the Blaze I know, and it certainly isn't the Blaze I fell in love with!"

"I'm sorry!" repeated the lavender queen, gripping herself tighter and stammering. "I can't help it, I've never been more scared in my life!"

"Neither do I…" Sonic began, delicately striding towards Blaze.

The feline felt her husband's loving hands wrap around her midsection as he continued.

"But losing sleep and moping around worrying about last case scenarios isn't gonna help you; isn't gonna help me; and certainly isn't gonna help Blaura, Dash, and Sonash."

"I know," Blaze admitted.

Sonic tickled Blaze's ear with delicate whispers as he put on the most optimistic act he could. "Honey, by the end of tomorrow, those two bozos'll be locked up for good, and we'll be a family again. Just you wait."

Blaze turned around in his arms and gave a halfhearted smile. "Thank you for trying, Sonic, but I'll never cease being wary until your prediction comes to pass."

"Dear, as long as I've got two legs to run on, those eggheads won't have our kids, or _anything _passed tomorrow," grinned her husband.

"I truly hope so…" was the cat's unsure response.

More seconds crawled by, with Blaze turning back around to feel her husband's hands on her stomach as she continued to observe the night sky. Alas, all moments must come to an end eventually.

"So, has my precious queen at least been consoled enough to come and get some shuteye, so I can get _my _beauty sleep?" the loving hedgehog teased.

"Hmm… yes," chuckled Blaze.

With a nod, Sonic guided the two back to bed, his arms temporarily leaving her midsection before quickly replacing themselves after the covers had been pulled over them. "See you in the morning, dear. Love you."

A more relaxed sigh trickled from Blaze's lips as she felt the security of her husband's grip. Her hands clasped around his as both pairs rose and fell with her breaths.

"I love you too."


	5. Flash

"_I've left the Sol Kingdom on the vessel Marine provided. Provided I stay on course, the device should be planted within the next hour," _the computerized image of Espio explained via the main display of Freedom H.Q.

"Thanks for the update, Espio. Remember, when you get within range of the ship's jammers, all communications will go dark until you plant the synchronizer," replied an inventive yellow fox from the other end.

"_Very well, I'll contact you when the task is complete," _was the stoic chameleon's response.

Following a quick nod from Miles, as well as a wish of good luck from his fellow Chaotix, Espio hung up, the screen returning to its default state. With this bit of business taken care of, Miles was ready to finalize their plan of attack. One that none had a complaint to give about, aside from one.

"I'd like to once again give my concern over this plan," an arms-crossed Blaze protested, stepping forward out of the assembled group of fighters. "Our children's safety should be the responsibility of my husband and I."

"We've talked about this, Blaze. You and Sonic charging straight for Blaura, Dash, and Sonash is exactly when the Eggmen'll expect. We can't play right into their hands," Miles replied, turning around and stepping away from the terminal.

"Hmph!"

"The best thing you can do to help your kids is to distract the doctors while Tangle, Whisper, the Chaotix, and myself grab them right out from under their noses," Miles reasoned.

Before Blaze could rebuttal, a compassionate hand on her shoulder prompted her to hold her tongue. She didn't need to turn around to know its owner. With a sigh, she stood down.

"Don't worry, Blaze," began Miles, holding an assuring smile. "There's no _way _I'll let those two maniacs cause any more harm to my niece and nephews. Uncle Miles is on the case!"

"And we may not be any aunts..." an excited lemur cheered, whipping an arm around her wolfy wife before continuing. "But we're on that same boat as Miles. You can count on us!"

"Mhmm," was the hushed hum of Tangle's flustered wife, having been still taken aback by the sudden embrace.

Blaze's eyes scanned the futuristic room. An appreciative smile surfaced as she laid eyes on the brave group of freedom fighters. Some gave her more words of encouragement, while others laughed and conserved among themselves. "Thank you, everyone. I truly am blessed to have such loyal companions."

Tangle smirked in reply. "Hey, don't sweat it, Blaze! Saving babies from two psychopathic doctors who wanna hold them for ransom in exchange for the surrender of an entire kingdom? What else are friends for?!"

With that, Miles strode over to the central console. On the cylindrical structure, he tapped on the panel interface to reveal a map of the Sol Dimension. The group's conversations slowly hushed as, with a few more gestures, the map zoomed in on a blinking red blip atop a vast ocean.

"If my mental math is right, and the ship hasn't moved much, we should see Espio's transmitter signal disappear any minute. Then, it's all up to him. We've just gotta wait." Miles explained.

"How long we talkin'?" asked an eyebrow-raised Sonic, tapping his foot impatiently.

"No way of knowing for sure, but we've got to go with Espio's estimate of about an hour or so," replied Miles, turning to the eager hedgehog. "How's your chest feeling?"

The hedgehog cheered as he pounded his puffed-out chest with his right hand. "Don't you worry about me, buddy! I'm good as new and ready to crack some eggs thanks to you!"

Across the room, a concerned bee's feet lifted off the metal floor as he moved to hover in front of his boss. "Speaking of which, how're your hands, Vector?"

"That ointment you gave me helped a ton!" began the croc, holding up his hands for the paramedic to inspect. Much to Charmy's satisfaction, the green coloration had not yet fully returned, but most signs of a severe burn were gone. "Not back to one hundred percent, but I'll be in fighting form for sure!"

"Awesome! Let me reapply it before we leave as well," replied Charmy.

Vector nodded back, giving an acknowledging grunt.

Needed, last-minute planning continued as morning sunlight poured through the glass dome atop Freedom H.Q.'s main room. Amy, having left and returned with her coffee briefly after, donned a look of uneasiness as she watched Espio's locator marker disappear from the map of the Sol Dimension.

"I'm worried about Espio, are you sure he can handle it?" the pink hedgehog asked, addressing no one in-particular.

"Good ol' Esp'? I'm sure he'll be fine…" Sonic replied with a dismissive hand gesture, prompting the boss of the man in question to chime in.

"I'm with Sonic on this one. Espio's the best spy on Earth, if anyone can get this done, it'll be him!" asserted the confident croc.

**XXXX**

A powerful electric buzz emanated from the inboard motor of a small, white vessel out on the open sea. Glistening in the morning sunlight along with the ocean water, the craft, titled 'S.F.V. Archerfish' by its paint job on the bow, sped along the open ocean. Atop the wooden deck, the boat's operator peered attentively at a handheld device

laying on the control console. Said individual's purple arms kept the boat on-course, sternly holding the archaic steering wheel.

An electronic beeping noise from the box pierced Espio the Chameleon's laser focus. As the noise persisted, he peered down at the display.

'SIGNAL LOST'

"Hmph. Must be getting close, then…" he muttered. Now, he was completely isolated from his team. It was all up to him.

Luckily, the repurposed fishing vessel's onboard navigation system relied on the planet's magnetic field to pinpoint location, thus rendering the doctors' jamming signal useless against it.

Miles had told Espio that the jammer would likely only work a few kilometers out at most. Judging by the grand size of the ship, seeing it from that far away on these open waters should have been a sinch. Espio narrowed his eyes, using his hand as a visor against the morning sunlight as he peered over the horizon.

Nothing, not a single hint of a vessel in sight, just open water.

"That's odd…" the confused chameleon muttered. A cloaking device? No, Miles had debunked that idea. Maybe the ship simply wasn't as large as Marine's estimates predicted, but also unlikely. Such a large error would be very uncharacteristic of the high-ranking Navy officer. No, something else had to be going on, and without any guess as to what, all Espio was left to do was wait.

As the boat sped on, the probability of the doctors' ship simply being smaller than expected diminished. Now less than half a kilometer out from the coordinates, Espio still spotted no sign of the mammoth vessel.

Shaking his head in defeat, Espio pulled back on the throttle as the boat settled on the X and Y coordinates. "This doesn't make any sense, it couldn't have gone far from this spot since a few hours ago!" he exclaimed, taking another glance around.

Collecting himself, Espio took a deep breath and calmed his frantic mind. Now was no time to panic, now was the time to think. A massive ship with coordinates last known five hours ago. A vessel that size shouldn't be able to move completely out of sight in that time. It wouldn't be fast enough. Then again, these were the Eggmen, anything was possible. He internally scolded himself, realizing that he should've asked Marine for the vessel's speed when she gave them its…

"Design!" Espio epiphanized. Quickly thinking back to the ship's specs, Espio recalled several key features. Its sleek, bullet-like shape; with very few windows, save the giant glass dome on top; The shark-like fins at the top and sides; It all added up!

A sound theory, but lacking a way to confirm it. Thinking to himself once more, Espio realized something else. The Archerfish was a retrofitted fishing vessel! With so little time to prep, Marine didn't have the time to take off any of the standard fishing equipment, including the answer to Espio's prayers.

Tapping a few buttons and flipping a labeled switch on the navigation console, Espio prompted its previously-black screen to light up. With one more gesture, he was let into the app he was looking for.

'Sonar Fishfinder: Online'

The screen turned blue, mimicking the ocean, with a depth scale reaching down to a half-kilometer. Everything looked for the most part, Espio assumed, normal for a fishfinder. Fish displayed on the screen as dots of red, varying in size. Everytime a new ping from the boat was sent out, it would update itself, slowly stretching deeper into the abyss.

Just as Espio suspected, fewer fish showed at the lower levels. However, one thing stood out from everything else, confirming his theory.

A massive blob of red occupied all of the two hundred meter mark and lower. Its boundaries stretched off the screen, escaping the scope of the relatively low-power piece of fishing equipment.

Espio's eyes widened. It was no boat they were dealing with.

"A submarine…"

Espio needed a new plan. Formulating to himself, he placed a hand on his chin. The jamming signal was still in effect, and would be until the device was planted. Leaving to re-enter contact range would waste valuable time, and there's no telling how long the doctors would want to stick around.

He looked across the deck, the only other option would be to complete his mission underwater and make contant right after the synchronizer was ready, but where would he get the necessary equipment?

Asif the universe had answered Espio's question, his eyes fell on a bolted down wooden barrel near the back of the boat. Moving in and inspecting its contents, he realized it was exactly what he needed. A few pairs of fins, as well as two sophisticated-looking helmets that he recognized from his ninja training. A lightweight unit, designed to synthesize air for the user.

Picking up one of the grey metal helmets, Espio peered into himself through the reflection of its glass front.

"Thank God Sonic's not here."

**XXXX**

The glass and metal prison around Espio's head did a fantastic job negating almost all sounds from the surrounding ocean, leaving the chameleon with only the echo of his breaths to accompany him as he swam toward his destination. In his right hand lied the synchronizer. A palm-sized metal box encased in a plastic diving bag. Espio was near-certain Miles would have the sense to waterproof his device, but the extra precaution was no added trouble regardless.

As he swam downward, Espio began to feel the pressure of the ocean above. He felt his breaths become shallower as his lungs struggled to push against the water. The massive ship below wasn't much further, but he knew he'd have limited time before even his heavily-trained body gave up. Burying any anxiety, he pressed forward.

A few minutes more placed Espio on the doorstep of the sub's massive red hull. Immediately, Espio took note of the lack of security. No outboard cameras, and no visible sonar equipment. Odd at least, worrying at most.

Twisting around and allowing his feet to touch the top of the ship, the now-struggling Espio looked for a safe place to stick the device. Not far away was the main fin, jutting out of the top just like a shark's would. No better spot, he supposed. Lifting off, he swam over.

Espio winced as he went to take a breath. He could've sworn he felt a crack in his ribcage, a surefire sign that he had little time to spare. Bringing the bagged device to his front, he recalled Miles' instructions. His fingers tapped a blue button through the bag, prompting the device to respond via its digital display.

'MAGNETIC SEAL ACTIVATED'

Reaching forward, Espio felt the powerful magnets grab onto the red surface of the fin through the bag, holding the synchronizer firmly in-place.

"Alright… Ngh!" Espio winced. "Now…"

Tapping a green button beside the blue, Espio activated his device. A high-frequency hum pierced the water and increased in pitch as it armed itself.

Espio wanted desperately to just swim back to the surface now, but he knew better. He still had one task to complete. He raised his watch to his face and tapped a button on the side of the helmet with his free hand, linking the two. The watch's small display was tougher to see through the watery distortion, but it would suffice. Swiftly, he dialed Freedom H.Q., praying that the synchronizer had done its job, and the underwater interference wouldn't block his signal as it was relayed back through the Sol Kingdom's interdimensional communications grid.

To Espio's relief, the face of the Freedom Fighters' leader appeared on the watch shortly after.

"_Espio? What's happening, and why can I barely see you?" _came Amy Rose's surprised voice from the other end, ringing throughout the helmet.

"Amy! Good, listen up, I don't have much time," Espio began, continuing when the pink hedgehog acknowledged his request. "The doctors' ship is more than just a boat, it's a submarine, and quite the deep diver at that."

_The faint noise of choking relayed through the comm as Amy lurched forward and placed her coffee off to the side. Taking a moment to swallow right herself, she responded. "A what?!" _

"I've managed to complete my mission with the equipment left on Marine's fishing vessel, but this development may require an… Gah!" Espio paused, holding his chest.

"_Espio, are you alright? Just how deep did you go?!" _exclaimed a concerned Amy from the other end.

"I'm fine! Just get here as soon as you can, I'll try and resurface and avoid detection until then!" Espio watched as Amy whipped around, beckoning to someone further back in the room and having an inaudible conversation with them. Soon, the team leader turned back around.

"_Alright, Espio. Hang tight. Backup will be… be there… soo…"_

Espio's brow furrowed, as the audio began breaking up, the picture fared no better. He smacked the side of his helmet, along with his wrist, trying to correct the error. "No, no!" he grunted in frustration. Seconds later, the picture faded entirely, accompanied by the sound of static ringing throughout his helmet. A stern line of text blinked across the screen.

'SIGNAL LOST'

Espio prayed it was merely the watch giving into the ocean depths. Either way, he had to retreat now, his time was running out. He tried to console himself as he turned to swim upwards. "Regardless, they got the message."

"_And it'll be the last message they'll _ever _receive!"_ boomed an all-too-familiar voice through Espio's helmet.

"What?!" Espio frantically glanced down at his watch. An ill-omen-of a symbol now presented itself across the display. The cartoonized face of a near-decades-long adversary.

"_Did you and your faction of furry fools really think your plan was going to work?" _The voice sneered through the comm.

"Eggman! What the hell is going on here?" demanded the ninja.

"_Oh please, allow me," _taunted the equally-as-recognizable and annoying voice of Eggman Nega. "_We've known all about that little fox's inferior portal technology for some time now, and took the necessary steps to negate it. You puny little boat was detected by our genius thermal scanners before it even got within a kilometer of our _beautiful _Egg Megalodon!"_

"Hmph, you're full of crap! If you really knew about me that far in advance, I'd have been blown out of the water long before this!" fired back the agitated ninja.

"_O'contraire, scaled simpleton! If not for us allowing you to pierce our defenses, we'd have never been able to use your puny device to exterminate all your fellow vermine in one go!" _jeered Eggman.

"And what's that supposed to… hngh!- mean?" sputtered the depth-sick chameleon.

Eggman's cocky counterpart sneered. "_Quite simple, really. But still, please do make sure your puny brain keeps up. Assuming your plan was to portal onto our ship, that device of yours could only be one thing: A synchronizer. Designed to lock onto our internal communications frequencies and relay it to your buddies. Am I wrong?"_

"I…" Espio began with a snarl, before cutting himself off at a complete loss for words.

Nega's gloating resumed. "_I'll take that as a 'no.' Now then, the only way for a synchronizer of that nature to effectively function is via a direct link to the user, in other words…"_

"_We'd say it's a backdoor, but you've left the front door wide open for us!" _Eggman finished, cutting off his associate.

Espio gasped, his lungs continuing to lose the battle with the intense pressure. "So what? They're way back on Earth, what good could their location possibly do you now?"

"_Ah, ah, ah. You misunderstand, lizard. Taking care of your friends will be a far simpler task than that. Why attack them directly when we can just relay false coordinates through their systems?" _

"You wha-?" Before Espio could finish, he was cut off by the sound of creaking metal. His eyes darted around, quickly spotting the source of the sound. To either side of Espio, two small metal hatches had slid open, revealing a pair of mechanical arms. The ninja gasped, staring wide-eyed at the new threat. The two-fingered ends of the arms snapped open and closed, ready to subdue their target. "You won't get away with this!"

"_We already have. Now, Nega. Where should we send the vermin?" _Eggman began, _clearly with the intention of Espio overhearing. "Perhaps the bottom of the ocean? The middle of a volcano? Ah, maybe into high orbit!" _

Time slowed down, Espio scraped every inch of his mind for a solution. He knew his chances or escape were slim to none, but there had to be a way to stop this. His eyes scanned the surrounding water, eventually falling on the device and lighting up in realization.

"None of the above!" Espio used all the strength he had left to twist around, launching a roundhouse kick at Miles' device.

"_What do you think you're doing?!"_

Ignoring Nega's voice, Espio drove his strike home, shattering the device and puncturing the bag that held it. "Ha!"

Being slowed by the water, Espio couldn't hope to react as the pair of metal arms shot toward him, firmly grasping his arms. He struggled in vain against their torque as they held him in place, draining the rest of his stamina.

"_Oh… you've done it now!" _Nega growled as the arms tightened, eliciting a snarl of pain from their prisoner.

"_No need to worry, my accomplice. Our plan may have failed, but so has theirs. Besides, now we have an _extra _hostage!" _replied Eggman's sinister tone.

Espio's eyes shot open. He felt a sudden rush of adrenaline surge through his veins. He wasn't about to take capture lying down. "Don't count your Flickies before they're hatched!"

Summoning a burst of energy from within, Espio activated his camouflage and shook himself free, producing small cuts on his arms as he tore away from the metal claws. He winced, but had no time to lick his wounds. The time to make a break for the surface was now.

"_A feeble and pointless attempt at escape. Nega, shall we deploy the Great Egg Whites and-" _

"Oh, shut up already!" exclaimed Espio, slamming his watch shut, ending the call. His legs continued to pump madly as the pair of fins carried him upwards. To his relief, the pressure slowly began to release its hold on his lungs. Water rushed by, and fish became more abundant. The surface may have been a mere couple hundred meters away, but it looked like thousands.

Just as he began to think the doctors might've given up pursuit, Espio was proven incorrect. He looked toward whence he came in response to the invasive hum of motors filling his ears. One glance was all the incentive he needed to keep swimming.

Behind Espio, not more than fifty meters behind him, surged a pair of shark-like abominations. The sun above shone on their steel bodies, with their glowing red eyes illuminating their yellow and black sockets.

The automatons jetted forward, their menacing tails churning. It didn't take long for the gap to be halved, then halved again.

Espio continued swimming for his life, the front of his mask fogging up. He felt himself gasping for air in the realization that the mask's synthesizers couldn't keep up with the oxygen demand. The surface drew ever-closer, but another glance back told him all he needed to know.

Whether he reached open air or not, a fight was inevitable.

The hum of the metal sharks' engines was almost right on top of him. Cutting his losses, Espio swiveled around in the water to face his pursuers. With his martial arts handicapped, and a fogged field of vision, he knew he stood little to no chance.

In seconds, the sharks were upon him. They reached his level and began menacingly circling him, no different than a real shark circling its prey. Now, their bodies were on full display. Two razor shard rows of teeth; Powerful jets where a shark's fins should be; Torpedo-tube-like openings below their side fins; These things were killing machines. Their white, segmented bodies slithered through the water, seemingly waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce.

And it came. The shark to Espio's right broke formation, charging him, teeth bared. Espio gasped and darted out of the way, narrowly missing the shark's teeth, but yelping in pain as he the swoosh of the shark's tail connected, forcing the air out of his lungs.

Espio recovered, just in time to dodge an attack from the other shark. However, no amount of speed could have saved him from the subsequent assault from its partner. It surged forward, brandishing its ensemble of razor sharp teeth. The chameleon, deprived of oxygen and half-blind, couldn't help but brace himself.

The expected clamping down of the beast's jaws never came, and instead, Espio found himself surrounded in a blue, glowing, net-like structure. "What?"

Struggling to break free, Espio looked towards the shark still looming over him, presumably having launched the net from its mouth. A sharp pain pierced his right shoulder. Holding back anything past a wince, he pried at the source of the pain, ripping out the culprit. Even through the fogged helmet, he knew a tranquilizer dart when he saw one.

"N… no!"

Espio's camouflage flickered, before failing entirely. His body'd had enough. As a powerful sedative coursed through his veins, the chameleon was left helpless, watching as his aggressors bared down on him.

Blurred vision and nausea came next. His head, the only extremity left still taking commands, darted around, trying to make sense of the fogged and blurred mess around him. The two Great Egg Whites appeared as nothing but blobs of white and yellow, like faint apparitions. With his last few breaths of consciousness, Espio could only hope that what he'd done would be enough.

"I'm…" he began, feeling the last hint of feeling slipping away as the two white blobs moved into position, presumably to carry him back to their lair.

"Sorry…"

**XXXX**

Red and white shoes pittered along Freedom H.Q.'s metal floor, their two-tailed wearer eagerly sprinting over. "Amy, I got your call over the comm system! What happened?"

A distressed Amy turned away from the now-static-covered main view screen. "I don't know! We were receiving all the frequency data, along with a call from Espio, and both streams suddenly just stopped! You don't think something went wrong, do you? What if those two maniacs found him out?" she rambled.

"Amy, calm down! We can't just go making assumptions like that. For all we know, my synchronizer just stopped working. After all, I did whip it together on the fly," Miles reasoned.

"Miles, this is _you _we're talking about," the pink hedgehog replied, her hands on her hips.

"Is Espio in trouble?" asked a concerned bee, barging into the room.

"We're not sure, Charmy. Espio's gone radio silent," explained Amy.

"Alright, let's be logical about this," Miles began, a hand on his chin as he strode over to the main terminal. "What was Espio doing right before he disconnected?"

"He didn't seem to be in much distress. He'd gotten to the doctors' ship undetected and planted the synchronizer just fine. The only thing that was really out of place was…" Amy paused, slapping her face as she realized her forgetfulness. "How could I have forgotten? Espio wanted me to relay an important message, something about the Eggmens' ship!"

"What about it?" Miles asked, eyebrow raised.

As the rest of the Freedom Fighters heeded Amy's summon through the H.Q.'s comm system, she took the time to catch Miles up on Espio's findings. Quickly, the old plan was thrown out the window. With Miles' portal technology rendered useless, and Espio out-of-contact. They had little other choice than to take a more old-fashioned approach.

"You want us to _what?_" a stunned blue monarch stammered at the mention of going underwater in a cramped submarine.

"Look, Sonic. I know you're afraid of the water, but we really don't have a choice here," insisted Miles.

"What? Who said anything about me being afraid? I'm not afraid!" rambled the water-scared hedgehog.

"All these years and Blaze still hasn't taught you to swim," Miles smirked, rolling his eyes in fake disappointment.

"Oh believe me, I tried," stated the blue blur's wife, walking over and squeezing his hand. "Just remember, honey. It's for our kids."

"Yeah, no sweat…" replied the unconfident hedgehog.

Miles began tapping on the central projector's interface as he explained the new plan. "We've still got Espio's last known coordinates. Knowing the doctors, they're gonna try and make a move out of the area now that they know we're onto them," he strategized, pulling up a map of the Sol Dimension on the central console once more, pointing to a blinking red dot. "We're gonna have to move fast if we wanna catch em' before they send us on a wild goose chase again."

"What about when we get there, how're we gonna get in?" asked a skeptical Amy.

"My Whirlpool II has more than enough means for cutting through the hull. The problem'll be getting through the Eggmens' defenses…"

"Defenses?" Sonic grinned nervously. "Not only are we gonna be traveling underwater, but we'll be getting shot at?"

"Well, yeah. You don't think they're just gonna let us waltz onto their fancy battlesub, do you?" questioned the vulpine.

"Heh, I guess not…" replied the anxious hedgehog, scratching his forehead.

"It'll be alright, honey," Blaze insisted with a warm smile, grasping her speedy husband's arm. "If there's anyone we can trust to get us to the doctors safely, it's Miles."

"I… you're right," conceded Sonic. "I don't doubt you at all, little bro."

"Thanks, Sonic. You know I'll try my best to get us there without a scratch!" smiled Miles. "Tangle, Whisper, Vector. Come with me. We've got a plane to prep."

"You got it, boss!" exclaimed the peppy lemur, grabbing her wife by the hand and pulling her forward to meet Miles.

The muscle of Team Chaotix moved to join the group of three, grunting in acknowledgement.

"Fueling and pre-flight shouldn't take long, we should be ready to get underway in about fifteen minutes," stated the genius fox.

Upon finalizing the plan, Miles led his team of helpers out of the room, leaving the two monarchs, Charmy, and Amy.

"So, Sonic. You ready to go _swimming?" _teased the smug leader of the Freedom Fighters.

The blue blur's eyes widened. "Heh, sure am…"

"Maybe you'd have gotten over your fear if you'd actually paid attention when I tried teaching you," scolded Blaze.

"Oh? Did his lack of focus have anything to do with that bathing suit I helped you pick out when we went shopping together?" Amy teased. Blaze scoffed, her cheeks flushing as she refused to make eye contact with the pink hedgehog.

"Oh, that was you? _Excellent _choice, Amy!" Sonic smirked.

"See? I told you he'd go crazy for it!"

"Can we please get back on-track here?" the flustered feline interjected.

"Ok, look. You're not made for air. I'm not made for water," attempted Sonic, slinging his arm around her shoulder. "Either way, I'll be fine. I'm not gonna let a little wetness get between me and our kids, deal?" He awaited a response, receiving one in a form of crossed arms and a nod. "Besides, if I end up passing out from fear, you can carry me to the surface!"

"You'd better pray that doesn't happen, because I'm not carrying you," corrected the female monarch.

**XXXX**

The ambient hums and beep of advanced machinery were the first sounds to greet the waking chameleon's ears. Groaning as his eyes cranked open, he tried to scan his surroundings. A sea of red, yellow, and black slowly clarified, morphing into a sizable room. Electronics whirred and blinked all around, with tools and blueprints lining the crimson, yellow-accented walls. In the center of the room lied a cylindrical console not unlike the one at Freedom H.Q., displaying a map of some sort.

The events leading up to Espio's predicament remained a blur, immediately. He noticed the restraints on his midsection and limbs, as well as the half-cylinder of glass surrounding his body. Perhaps if he kept looking, he'd find something to jog his still-waking brain.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to wake up."

Suddenly, all memories of the ninja's past exploits came surging back. His eyes flew wide open as the immediately recognizable voice of Eggman invaded his ears. Immediately, he turned to face its source. "Eggman!"

"The one and only," the doctor jeered. "Welcome to the Egg Megalodon, I hope you find your accommodations to your liking."

"Five stars!" mused Espio with a grunt.

"Oh, sarcasm? Are the metal restraints not tight enough? Perhaps I didn't pump you full of enough sedative?" sneered the psychopath in response.

"What do you want, Eggman?" the irritated chameleon scoffed.

"What do I want? Isn't it obvious?" Eggman smirked, preparing to answer his own rhetorical question. "The destruction of Sonic and everything he holds dear, followed by the complete takeover of Earth!"

"Hmph! Haven't the last one and a half decades taught you _anything?" _

"They sure have! I've got fifteen years worth of plans that I know won't work, meaning that I'm that much closer to the one that will!" the doctor replied.

"Or maybe you're just insane and doomed to fail," jabbed Espio, struggling against his restraints.

Eggman chuckled at the failed attempt. "Insane? That much is obvious, but doomed to fail? I guess we'll just have to see now, won't we?"

"Hmph!"

"And you might as well save your strength, those restraints wouldn't give to your slimy green reptile of a boss let alone you."

"Has our guest finally come to?" interjected the equally-unwelcomed voice of Eggman Nega as he entered the room, the silver and red door sliding shut behind him.

Eggman nodded with a grunt, turning to greet his accomplice. "I was just about to inform him of his status as our honorary extra hostage!"

"Ah, did he enjoy the treatment from our Great Egg Whites?" Nega smirked.

Eggman stepped to the side and beckoned to the restrained Freedom Fighter. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"The name's even dumber than usual," taunted Espio. "And that's saying a lot for the two psycopaths that put the word 'egg' in front of all their machines."

Nega's grin only intensified. "Well their dumb names sure didn't stop them from defeating and restraining you in seconds, now did they?"

As spite-filled banter between the chameleon and Nega, Eggman noticed a small microchip in between his counterpart's right middle and index finger. "Is that what I think it is?"

"The regulator chip for the Egg Vanquisher's power systems? The one and only," answered Nega, bolstering the chip. "With this baby installed, controlling the power of all _fourteen _emeralds will be a sinch!"

An unsettled Espio's eyebrow raised. "Egg Vanquisher?"

"Ah, of course, how rude of us!" Eggman exclaimed, clasping his hands together and striding over to a wall terminal and tapping a few keys. "We haven't even shown our guest what we'll be crushing his fellow freedom fools with!"

With a few more gestures, the ceiling in front of Espio opened up. Out of it descended a view screen suspended on a mechanical arm. Moments later, it flicked on in front of him.

Splayed across the screen was what Espio could only assume was the interior of the Megalodon's hangar. Seemingly large enough to store a dozen Hurricane III's, the room instead housed one sole creation. As his eyes scanned the beast, they widened in shock.

"So, what do you think? Do you like it?" smirked Eggman.

Any possible response eluded the chameleon's mouth. He sat captivated by the sight in front of him.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes!"

**XXXX**

All Sonic the Hedgehog characters and concepts are owned by SEGA. All original characters, as well as the AU concept as a whole is by Sonicxfan64 on DeviantArt.


	6. Catalyst

Feet clanked against metal, a determined team striding down the yellow-accented hallway. As they approached a large metal door, one nervously grinning hedgehog cut through the chatter.

"So, you're sure there's no other way?" quivered Sonic.

"Well, there's always swimming," shrugged the two-tailed genius of the group. "I can go get the life vests…"

The hedgehog's limbs immediately felt like twigs. "Wow, I sure am ready to ride in Tails' submarine! How about you guys?"

"Hmph! That's what I thought," Miles smirked.

"It's been awhile since I've been out in the field," began the pink team leader, nervously scratching her chin and brandishing her hammer.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Amy! Plus, this'll give you a chance to see _you know who_," Tangle grinned.

The pink hedgehog failed to conceal her blush. "Well… I _do _miss him, and Vanilla's watching Amelia for us, so I figured…"

"Hey, I get it. I'm not sure _I'd _be able to stand being apart from Whispy here for weeks at a time!" Tangle replied, scratching the head of her wolfy wife.

"Mmmm… me neither," the timid wolf admitted.

"Plus, I'm sure those nifty powers'a his will come in plenty handy!" Tangle smiled.

Amy stopped at the door with the rest of the group, shifting her weight onto her hammer. "Yeah, especially with all that training he's been doing lately…"

The panel beside the entrance beeped in acceptance following a scan of Miles' eye, prompting the door to hiss open. The team strode in, their footsteps echoing throughout the large, dark hangar.

An ensemble of overhead lights buzzed to life in-sequence, revealing more of the room bit-by-bit. The familiar form of the Hurricane III sat off to the side, a series of cables attached to its exterior. A new craft took its place at the center of the room, a group of spotlights shining off its smaller, but similarly-colored, hull.

"There she is, the Whirlpool Mach Two!" Miles introduced, proudly beckoning to his creation.

While most of the group basked at the sight, the shark-like fin at the top of the craft, along with the nautical propellers housed in the back, did little to help the nerves of one speedy monarch in-particular.

"Just remember what we're doing this for," came a comforting whisper from Sonic's beloved as she squeezed his lightly trembling hand.

"Right… for the kids, for the kids…" Sonic repeated to himself.

"This thing doesn't look much different from that other one!" stated Tangle, pointing over to the team's previous vehicle. "Why didn't we just take this one last time?"

Miles gestured for Team Freedom to follow as he made his way to the plane. "The Hurricane Three's way faster and more advanced than the Whirlpool series. The amphibious components, coupled with the smaller design, limit their speed and fuel capacity. In other words, they're a pretty niche kind of craft."

"Oh… makes sense," Tangle shrugged.

With the push of a button on his wristwatch, Miles opened the loading ramp to the Whirlpool II. As its passengers strode up and in, the cabin's changes, made to accommodate the differing purpose and smaller size of the craft, were made apparent.

Miles first beckoned to two rows of yellow seats, arranged in groups of six along the side walls. "Below your seats, you'll find emergency underwater equipment. I don't foresee any complications, but these _are_ the Eggmen we're talking about, here," he explained before shifting his gesture to a metal tube at the center with two doors embedded. "That's the deployment hatch. It's the only way out of this thing once we're under…"

Following Miles' briefing, he retreated to the pilot's cabin, now its own doored-off room at the front. The group fanned out to their seats and reached for their straps. While the rest of Team Freedom conversed, Blaze watched in amusement as her husband worked to practically strangle himself. With a loving smirk, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Honey, you don't need them that tight."

"Hey, I'm just being safe!" grunted Sonic as a click signified the x-shaped straps locking in place around his constricted body.

"Cutting off your airway isn't what I'd call 'safe'. Here," the queen offered, reaching over and pulling on the straps. Finishing up, her hands retreated. "Better?"

The hedgehog's lungs graciously accepted their loosened restrains. "Ok, fine. It's a _little _better."

A hand rose to the feline's mouth, stifling a chuckle.

"_Alright, everyone, we'll be leaving momentarily. Remember to keep those straps on unless you want to be pinned to the back during takeoff," _reminded Miles over the speakers. Not more than a few seconds later, the hum of warming engines filled the cabin, followed by a subtle jolt.

The Whirlpool II started toward an opening set of hangar doors. Though unable to see out of the windowless cabin, Blaze knew what was coming.

Feeling his wife pin his hand to the armrest with her own, Sonic looked over, noticing Blaze's closed eyes and uneasy breaths. He rested his free hand on her's, diverting her attention.

"Thank you," Blaze whispered, returning her husband's warm, comforting smile.

"Remember. For the kids," reminded Sonic, removing his hand and preparing himself.

The doors finished their cycle, inviting the young pilot into a long tunnel, and with the press of a few buttons, an illuminant portal at the end flickered to life. Miles made final adjustments before leaning into his microphone.

"Alright guys, we're about to go from zero to one-sixty in a few seconds. Hold on tight!" With a grin, Miles pushed the throttle forward, revelling in the roaring reply of the engines and adrenaline-filled takeoff that was sure to follow.

The vulpine's back was immediately glued to his chair as his brainchild barreled down the runway at increasing speeds. Feeling the fur on the back of his neck stand up, he held firm on the controls.

"Woohoo! This never gets old!" The excited engineer cheered over the rush of the wind and music of the engines.

Unfortunately, a certain feline didn't share a love for the skies. Blaze placed Sonic's hand in a death grip, not daring to take a breath as her eyes shut in fear.

"_Alright, guys. Get ready for the jump!" _announced the voice of the pilot over the rolling of the wheels and roar of the engines.

The blood retreated from Sonic's hand as a momentarily dizzying sensation washed over himself and the group. In a quick flash of white, it had passed. Gone was the light shaking that came with wheels on the ground, and along with it, the echo of the plane's sounds along the confined, metal walls.

"See, Honey? It wasn't so bad!" Sonic grinned, placing a hand atop his wife's as the smooth ride continued.

The regal feline finally allowed herself to exhale. "At least there aren't any windows…" she muttered, wrapping herself in her free hand.

"_Team Freedom, we've arrived in the Sol Dimension! Remember to keep your trays in the upright position and…" _

The speedy monarch rolled his eyes as Miles continued his play-airline speech. Suddenly, his attention turned to a more pressing matter.

"Uhh… honey?"

"Yes, Sonic?" the still-stiff Blaze managed.

"Can I have my hand back now?"

The cat glanced and realized she was still strangling her husband's hand. With a gasp, her own palm flew away. "Sorry…"

"Hey, it's alright! We can totally hold hands! I'd just rather you not give mine a hydraulic press treatment, is all," smirked Sonic. With a blush, the feline's hand returned, more delicately this time.

Moment's later, the pilot's voice returned to the intercom. "_Blaze, Sonic, could you two come to the front for me?"_

Tangle looked over and smirked. "Ooh… someone's in trouble…"

"Hmph, you wish!" The speedy hedgehog unbuckled and leaped out of his seat, helping his wife out of hers as well. With a shared nod, the two started toward the door.

**XXXX**

"Well, it's about bloody time!" a feisty raccoon called to the figures on the other side of the main view screen, her voice ringing through the bridge of her ship.

"_Sorry, Marine. We ran into some... complications with the previous plan," _replied the calm voice of the captain's queen from the other side.

"Yeah, yeah. Milesy, here filled me in on your littl' problem. My only question is, why didn't'y'guys have me send backup with Espy? You might as well've sent the poor bloke on a suicide mission!" replied the officer, folding her arms.

Blaze returned to gesture. "_It was a covert operation, and Espio insisted he go alone." _

"Well, we damn sure saw how that littl' 'operation' turned out!"

"_Things just didn't work out, that's all. It's not like Espio's plan was 'I'm gonna go get caught!'" _mused Sonic.

"I know that, mate! I just…" trailed Marine, filling her pause with a deep exhale. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just, my crew and I'h've been stonkered well and good. We've lost some good mates already, and now, Espy's in the clutches of those drongos havin' chaos knows what done to'im! I just bloody hate the idea of sittin' around while my best mates risk their lives!"

"_We know that, Marine, and we're just as concerned about him as you are," _came Blaze's reply from the other side. "_And I know how you feel. How do you think I felt, stranded a dimension away with the knowledge that my kids were in the hands of those psychopaths?"_

The raccoon's face softened as she peered away from the screen. "Probably not that ace, mate…"

"_I know you may not feel like you're helping out right now, but we _need _you and the fleet to be at the ready for when we require extraction. That's how you can help us, and I know… won't... us…"_

The sound and sight of static began breaking up the cat's words. Her eyes widening, Marine began feverishly pounding away at her terminal, trying to get the signal back. "Oh, bloody hell! What's happenin' up there?" Moments later, the distinct voice of the team's foxy pilot pierced the white noise.

"_Marine! We're… jamming field… just…"_

The full takeover of static, accompanied by a red 'Signal Lost' prompt, indicated the end of communications.

Marine's fists came down on the keyboard. "Oh, damn it all!"

After taking a moment, the raccoon entered another string of commands before reaching up and yanking down a microphone. "Aight mates, listen up!" her voice boomed over every loudspeaker in the sizable, metal ship. "We've got new orders, and I want this tinnie juiced up'n ready to push off by eleven-hundred! Get to work!"

Marine deactivated the display and released the microphone, the new onset of silence being pierced only by the bustle of the crew below and the beeps and whirs of electronics. She removed her hat and placed it on her chest as she gazed out the window of the bridge toward the cloudless sky and oceanic horizon, praying it was merely the Eggmen's jamming signal taking effect that'd caused the loss of contact.

"Good luck, mates."

**XXXX**

To the passengers inside the windowless cabin, a journey under the sea felt no different than one above, save the speed difference. However, to the yellow fox piloting the Whirlpool II, the experiences were far from the same. As the craft glided through the ocean, Miles gazed at its inhabitants, vastly assorted in shape, size, and color. Beams of sunlight still managed to sneak through to their depth, and below, the seemingly endless expanse threatened to swallow them whole.

As much as Miles both loved and missed his underwater adventures, he had a job to do. A single gesture on the console had him leaning into his microphone once again. "Sorry for the bumpy entry, guys, but with a craft like this, it can't really be helped."

He returned his attention to the sea ahead, his eyes growing wide at what he saw.

"Woah…"

In the sea ahead, a massive, shadowy form began to materialize, becoming more detailed with every passing second. He pulled back on the throttle and reactivated the intercom. "Alright everyone, we're closing in. Remember your assignments and get ready!"

As the fox's voice rang through the cabin, a shiver crept up Sonic's back, ending at his quivering lips.

"It'll be fine, Sonic. We're almost there," consoled his wife, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, great. We get to go from a _small _underwater tin can to a _big _one made by two psychopaths," scoffed Sonic, placing a hand atop his wife's.

"Oh relax, Sonic. You'll be back on your precious ground shortly, kiddos in-hand," Tangle mused nonchalantly.

"That's right, and this time, those doctors are going away for _good_," chimed Vector.

Sonic felt his nerves melting away as his eyes met with his comforting wife's. "Just remember who we're fighting for," smiled the feline.

"I wouldn't dare forget. A little dip in the ocean isn't gonna stop me from keeping my family safe," the hedgehog nodded, returning the gesture.

Everything was going smoothly in the pilot's chamber. The foxy pilot kept his hands steady, his sonar showing him the readout of the metal monster ahead in the form of a huge red...

"Blips?"

As-if answering Miles' question, alarms began to flash, a red light descending from the ceiling and gleaming fervently. His eyes glued to the screen. Where there was previously one, large dot, there were now several.

"What are those things?!" Miles yelled, setting the craft to autopilot and feverishly typing on his console. A side display flashed to life, showing a roughly-shaded cylindrical object with a conical front and an ensemble of fins on the back. A series of numbers off to the side displayed the object's speed and size approximations.

The alarms continued to wail as Miles' panicked eyes grew wide at the sight. The red blips continued to creep ever-closer to the center of the sonar. He pressed another button and leaned into his mic before his hands flew back to the controls.

"Guys, we've got company! I'm gonna have to begin evasive maneuvers, so make sure you're strapped in tight!" The first bogey came into view; a black, yellow-accented torpedo with the unmistakable Eggman Nega logo on the side. Miles was in no hurry to find out how much of a punch they'd pack.

The torpedo's siblings soon followed behind. The agile craft swiveled to the right, its top rudders responding to the jerking of twin control columns. The engines hummed louder as the craft sped forward.

The Whirlpool II darted to the right, narrowly avoiding collision. Miles, now at a ninety-degree angle along with the rest of the ship, set his sights on the next two incoming threats.

The craft righted itself and pulled up to evade the torpedoes. Miles' eyes darted back to the sonar. Just as he'd feared, they wouldn't give up that easily. His fingers frantically entered another command, the side screen flipping to the rear camera. The torpedoes were turning back for another go.

Gritting his teeth, the fox leveled out his brainchild again. Sweat trailed down his face as his eyes trained on the now-much-closer metal behemoth. Some quick mental math made it obvious that the torpedoes would catch up to them far before they could reach the ship. He needed some way to bide time, to shake the hungry weapons. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"That's it!" Miles pulled straight up on the controls. "Everyone hold on! We're about to resurface!"

The Whirlpool II pivoted upwards, now almost perpendicular to the rapidly-approaching surface. A series of mechanical whirs and clicks ensued as the sky engines prepared to reveal themselves.

The torpedoes closed in on their prey like a group of starved sharks. Freedom was only seconds away, and Miles' calculations told him the margin for error was almost zero. With one final push on the throttle, it was over.

The water gave way, the Whirlpool II jetting out of the sea. Right on queue, the soaked sky engines unsheathed, roaring to life and rocketing them away.

"Yes! We did it!" Miles cheered, his mic still transmitting. He leveled out the craft, cruising above the raging water. Even through the closed door, he could hear the cheers of his team that he'd kept safe. The alarms ceased, and with a relieved sigh, the fox fell back in his chair.

Moments later, the beeping of his warning system shook Miles from his tranquillity. He pressed the blinking red button and watched as the craft's display switched itself into radar mode. As the beam made its first pass, terror shot through the vulpine's body.

Adjusting the rear camera, Miles watched as, with a splash, the metal pursuers breached the surface of the water, charging forward with rocket engines of their own. The throttle was slammed forward, and the torpedoes-turned-missiles wasted no time surpassing the Whirlpool II's top speed.

The craft lurched downward, pulling up just in time to avoid plunging back into the sea. It's powerful engines left a torrential trail in its wake as its yellow form darted along the surface. The missiles followed suit, assuming a triangle formation and lowering their altitude to match, just as the pilot had hoped…

The Whirlpool II's wake struck the missile in the front, veering it off course and dampening its speed. It darted to the left, showing its broadside to its ally.

The missiles collided, the resulting column of flames accompanying a mighty shockwave that tore across the surface. The last remaining enemy, while undoubtedly slowed by the destruction of its allies, exited the flames and continued pursuit.

The wall of force shook the cabin, throwing an already-uneasy Blaze into panic. She grasped her husband for dear life as it passed.

"_Two of the missiles are down, but there's still one left! I don't know how I can shake it!"_ rang Miles' frantic voice.

Across the room, Vector's eyes lit up. "Charmy, you still got your ring?" he demanded, turning to his associate.

"Yeah boss! How come?" replied the bee, retrieving his own circular device.

"Whisper, catch!"

Hearing the croc's words, Whisper shot her hand out, grasping the ring.

Tangle shared her wife's confused look. "What're you planning, Vec?"

"A way to take that thing out!" Vector replied before turning to Charmy and opening his palm. "I'm gonna need that!"

With the second ring firmly in his grasp, Vector turned to the closed door of the pilot's cabin.

"Listen up, Miles! When I give the word, you've gotta lower the ramp!"

"_What, why? This thing isn't designed to fly with the ramp down! It could suffer irreparable damage!" _

"More irreparable than a missile through the hull?" mused Vector. "Just trust me!"

After receiving a concessive acknowledgement from the pilot, Vector turned back to the lemur and wolf and pressed a button on his ring. A trail of sparkles extended out between it and the one in Whisper's hand.

"Put this around your ankle, Whisper. I'll be able to hold you in place while we lower the ramp and you take your shot with-"

"Hold up, what?!" exclaimed an outraged Tangle. "You're not gonna put a cute little trail of sparkles between my wife and her watery demise, buddy!"

Frustration washed across Vector's face. "She's the only one that can take that thing out, and I don't see you coming up with any _better_ ideas!"

"How 'bout one that doesn't involve practically signing Whisper's death warrant?"

"Tangle."

The lemur immediately turned upon hearing the hushed voice of her companion. The wolf's firm hand grasped her shoulder.

"S'okay. I'll do it."

"What? Whisper, no!" protested Tangle, receiving nothing but a small, yet confident nod in return.

"_Whatever you're planning, Vector, you'd better do it soon! That thing's gaining on us!" _warned Miles.

"No time to argue," Whisper murmured, removing her hand and releasing her harness.

"You have my word, Tangle. Nothing will happen to her. If she goes, I'm going with her," assured Vector, gesturing to his own ring.

"I…" Tangle began in defeat, her tail shooting up and tightening around Whisper's midsection. Clenching her fists, the lemur looked up, a new resolve burning in her eyes. "Then so am I."

Whisper rose from her seat, the ring now fastened around her ankle. Her thankful grin morphed into an intense resolve as she started toward the middle of the plane.

Whisper lied down on the ground, her Wispon glowing pink. Held firmly in place by her wife's unrelenting tail and Vector's ring, she gave Vector a confident nod before peering into the scope that'd sprouted from the top.

Vector cupped his mouth with his free hand. "Alright Miles! Hold'er steady and lower the ramp. We're ready!"

A rush of wind stampeded into the room as the ramp began its descent. Blaze gripped her husband even tighter as the rest of the team held onto their armrests for dear life. The wolf at the opening took the brunt, the initial impact knocking her hair free of its tie and nearly disarming her.

Regaining control, the wolf peered back into her weapon. Just as she'd thought, the missile was directly behind them, closing in quickly. A trivial shot to hit if not for the circumstances.

"_I don't know how much longer the Whirlpool can keep this up, it wasn't designed for this!" _Miles' voice called. The entire craft lurched to the left before swiftly righting itself. "_There's gonna be way more than that came from if I don't close that ramp soon!"_

Tangle winced as the added force strained her tail. "Mmph! Whisper, take the shot!"

"Trying…"

The wolf's words were lost in the wind as she lined up the shot again. Before she could pull the trigger, her crosshair shook as the appendage wrapped around her midsection readjusted itself.

"Whisper… can't hold it much longer!" strained Tangle, her tail tightening itself once more.

The metal predator was almost upon them, and in one desperate move, Whisper quickly re-aimed and took the shot.

A pink bolt surged out of the barrel, perfectly striking its target and having an instant effect. Now a stone's throw away from the plane, the missile exploded in a column of flames and sent another shockwave barreling toward the team. It tore through the cabin, knocking Whisper back and buckling the entire craft.

"Ngh! Can't…" winced Tangle, futilely struggling to keep her tail from loosening any further.

Miles had witnessed the destruction of the final missile, and even with wind violently tearing through the plane, he could still hear Vector's exasperated voice calling out to him.

"Miles, close the ramp!"

More than happy to oblige, the fox slammed the appropriate button, only to be greeted with another warning signal. Frantically, his eyes darted to an informational diagram of the ship, seeing the ramp section flash red.

"No, no, no!" Miles fired, grabbing his head in frustration. Momentarily, his finger was back on the comm button. "Vector, that last shockwave must've damaged the hydraulics. It's jammed! I'm gonna have to take us down!"

Sonic's eyes grew wide, immediately peering out the open ramp and to the raging seas below. "Are you nuts?! What do you mean 'take us down'?"

"_I mean we either submerge again now, or the ship tears itself apart in the air!" _replied Miles' frantic voice.

"I think you're forgetting the part where we have to, y'know, _breathe?!"_ Sonic yelled over the continuing whipping of the wind.

"_That's what your masks are for!" _

"Little -gah!- problem with that!" Tangle grunted, both her hands now constricted around her exhausted tail. Her eyes filled with fear as her wife, now pinned to the central lift by the current, held on for dear life.

"Whisper's still stuck out of her seat, and I don't think Tangle can reel her back in!" Vector finished.

Another red warning light flashed on Miles' equipment. The control columns rattled violently in his hands, the entire plane beginning to buckle.

"_Guys, hold on! We're about to lose the left engine!" _

The sounds of a struggling motor echoed throughout the plane, accompanied by a leftward dip. Fearful gasps and shrieks were immediately washed away by the winds.

The slowing of the craft, coupled with the increasingly sharp angle, released Whisper from her position pinned on the center shaft. Vector pressed a button on his ring, dissipating the trail of sparkles and allowing the wolf to fall toward her seat, with Tangle using the little strength her tail had left to guide her the rest of the way..

"Gah, it's alright, little guy. I won't overwork you again, I promise…" Tangle groaned, stroking her tail and turning to her wife. "And Whisper, thank goodness you're safe!"

The timid wolf hastily buckled herself in and re-tied her hair before throwing her arms around Tangle.

"Thank you…"

"Hurry everyone, masks on!" Amy ordered from the opposite corner of the ship before reaching under her seat and unhooking her own breathing apparatus.

"Ok, Sonic. It's for the kids, it's for the kids…" he continued to repeat to himself as he grasped his wife's arm. "Honey, you're gonna have to let go of me now."

The queen, still fearfully wrapped around her husband, gave a weak nod before prying herself away and looking down under her seat, making every effort to ignore the winds and avoid eye contact with the skies outside. She quickly located her own device and slipped it on.

Sonic continued to repeat his little slogan to himself as the croc, outfitted with a different sort of apparatus, gave a thumbs up. Blaze's hands locked around his arm as he closed his eyes and braced himself.

Almost as if on cue, the right engine, tasked with keeping the plane aloft by itself, began to strain under the increased pressure. "Come on, come on…" Miles groaned, pressing two more buttons on the control columns.

The half-functioning engines retreated back into the craft, with the propellers showing green. The rudders worked desperately to level them, but Miles knew it wouldn't happen in time. Either way, it wasn't going to be a smooth landing.

Fifty meters. Twenty five. Ten…

"_Everyone, brace yourselves!" _Miles hollered through the cabin.

Sonic followed his wife's lead, embracing her as the Whirlpool II, no longer amphibious, nor plane, impacted the ocean. Immediately, they jetted downward, with water rushing into the cabin. Sonic panickingly gulped as the first wave struck him and Blaze.

Miles pulled back on the control columns, trying to slow their submersion. Yellow stress warnings flashed all over the ship's diagram, the hull seeming to whine in protest. The red flash present on the ramp section cut out completely, leading to a raised eyebrow. With a flash of realization, the fox looked through the rear camera feed to see the metal object tumbling in the currents behind them.

"That's not good…"

The cabin filled completely, and Sonic looked first to his wife, then to his team. The craft, now exclusively a submarine, began to slow to a cruise. A sigh of relief would have followed, if not for another epiphany.

"Water, water!" the speedy monarch sputtered, beginning to hyperventilate and remaining latched onto his spouse.

The electronicized voice of Miles echoed through the hedgehog's mask. "_Relax, Sonic. You're strapped in, and that mask synthesizes oxygen from the water, but it's not gonna be able to keep up if you keep breathing like that!"_

"Tails?! How're you in here?" Sonic questioned.

"_These masks are com-linked, but given that we're still well within the radius of the jamming signal, they'll probably only work at extremely short range,"_ explained Miles.

"So we didn't veer too much off-course, then?" asked Blaze, having all but recovered from the less-than-pleasant landing.

The fox on the other end chuckled. "_Ironically enough, this put us right on top of them!"_

"So, what's the game plan?" Blaze followed up.

"_Well, it'll be a miracle if the laser cutters are still operational after all this,"_ replied the fox. "_I can get us there in this state, but I don't know how we'll get inside…"_

"Use me."

"_What?" _

"Use me," Blaze repeated. "The water _will_ greatly hinder my pyrokinesis, yes. However, I _may_ still be able to heat my hands enough to weaken the metal of the ship."

"_That… could work," _pondered Miles.

"Then it's settled," Blaze stated matter-of-factly. "Get me to the ship and I'll take care of our entrance."

**XXXX**

"_Alright, Blaze. Fire away!"_

Acknowledging Miles' go-ahead, Blaze, now positioned near the nose of the massive submarine, placed her hand on the cold, red metal hull. She glanced back up at the Whirlpool II, its stabilizer jets keeping it level as her hand warmed up.

Now outside the confines of the Whirlpool II, Blaze had begun to experience the intense pressure Miles had warned her about. The doctors' craft wasn't as deep as it was during Espio's attempt, but nevertheless, she still felt the strain on her lungs and body.

As she struggled to take in a full breath, the water surrounding her hand boiled, the metal underneath beginning to glow a dim orange. With a determined scowl, she focused all her energy into one point. The hull began to shriek in protest, trying desperately to use the water around it to remain cool.

"_Great work Blaze! Keep it up and-"_

"_Did you shaggy simpletons really think infiltrating the Egg Megalodon would be that easy?"_

Blaze's eyes widened as Miles' encouragement was cut short by an all-too-familiar voice. Quickly, her surprise turned to a scowl.

The feline growled, the metal beginning to heat and sizzle even more intensely.

"Eggman!"

"_The one and only! Nega's off making some final preparations for our genius plan, and he asked me to keep an eye on things. Imagine my surprise when I saw a soon-to-be heirless queen and her furry friends trying to-"_

"Can it, monster!" hissed Blaze, her hand beginning to sink into the softened metal. "You might want to choose your words more carefully. I'm a few metal walls away from taking my children back and throwing you in a cell to rot for the rest of your pathetic life!"

A scoff echoed through Blaze's mask at the threat. "_Oh please, my fiery feline. You'll never 'throw me in a cell,' but either way, I'm afraid I can't let you in that easy. After all, Nega entrusted me to keep his precious... until he..." _

Electronic static momentary filled the mask before being replaced, once again, by the voice of Miles.

"_I managed to lock Eggman out. He shouldn't be able to penetrate our comms again."_

"_Good. The less we hear of that creep, the better…" _groaned Amy, with several team members seconding.

Sonic's voice stuck out. "_I agree, but umm… what'd he mean when he said he couldn't let us in-" _

The creak of moving metal answered Sonic's inquiry, and Blaze looked over toward the source of the water-muffled sound. Mindful to keep up her work, she raised an eyebrow at two large, circular openings forming on the Megalodon's belly. It would be mere moments now. She could feel her hand sinking into the ship more easily by the moment, but unfortunately, it seemed its crazed captains had other plans.

"_Blaze, look out!" _

Miles' frantic warning preceded a mighty ripple tearing through the water. Blaze winced as her body was thrown back, the air forced from her lungs and her hand dislodged. With a frustrated growl, she quickly righted herself and looked back to see that the superheated hull was graciously accepting the ocean waters, hissing as it cooled and hardened. Before she could even consider the grueling task of reheating the metal, the sources of the shockwaves jetted out from the side of the Megalodon in the form of two large, shadowy masses.

Quickly, the light peeking in from the surface above worked to illuminate the two newcomers. Blaze's eyes widened as a pair of, to put it simply, mechanical sharks sliced through the water and altered their course.

"_Blaze, get back to the ship, now!" _a frantic Miles demanded.

Not needing any encouragement, Blaze spun around and began a b-line toward the ship.

"What? What's happening out there?!" Sonic demanded from his seat.

"_Sonic, I'll be alright. We've just got some... visitors, is all," _rang the voice of Blaze. She'd tried to sound calm, but Sonic knew his wife better than that.

"Blaze, no! Tell me what's out there!" The hedgehog's eyes widened as a symphony of exertive huffs filled his mask from Blaze's end. His mind raced faster than his legs could ever hope to carry him as he scrambled through a multitude of disaster scenarios. He could feel himself beginning to lose control of his breath as he came to the realization of what he'd have to do.

"_Sonic, what's wrong?"_

Upon hearing Miles' voice, Sonic began to slow his breaths, his eyes creaking shut as he lowered his head. Trying his damndest to mask his fears, he reached for the release on his harness.

"Tails, is it safe to exit?"

"_What? Sonic, whatever you're planning..."_

Sounds and images of his gasping wife continued to echo through his mind, wearing thin on the little patience he had left. His body shook, his fist clenching as his other hand grasped the release even tighter. "Damnit! Answer me, Miles!"

"_Fine, yes!"_

One more deep breath was all the time necessary for the water-scared hedgehog to bury his fears in the deepest chasms of his mind and force open his eyes. With an unbreaking resolve, he pressed the button.

"I'm coming, Blaze!"

Blaze glanced behind her, quickly regretting that decision as she saw the metal sharks quickly closing the gap. Their powerful tails pumped behind them as their beading red eyes zeroed in on their prey. Blaze refocused toward her destination, but she didn't have to be a math genius like Miles to reach a painful truth. She wouldn't get there in time, she'd have to fight. Her limbs carried her as fast as they could, but the pressure of half-a-kilometer of seawater weighed down on her, draining her stamina and straining her lungs.

A few seconds more, and she no longer needed to look behind her. She could _feel _the mechanical beasts looming over her. The Whirlpool II was closing in, but not quickly enough. She was still a fair distance from the opening, not that getting inside would guarantee safety anyway. In a panic, she twisted around to meet her foes. Both sharks were at least twice her length, with powerful sets of jaws large enough to swallow her whole. Now, they were mere meters away. She struggled to form any sort of defense with her pyrokinesis as her foes prepared to strike, but the futility soon became apparent. She'd never be able to burn hot enough to throw out any projectiles down here. Resigning that idea, she clenched her teeth as her fists raised, instinctually trying to defend her.

The strike she'd prepared for never came. Instead, she watched as a spinning blue ball tore through the water, smacking the right shark into its ally and knocking both off-course. Her eyes widened, with her mind recovering from both the shock of her attackers being repelled, and the identity of said repeller.

"I… Sonic?!" Blaze gasped as her husband uncurled and floated in front of her.

"_The one and… only," _replied the blue blur, his speech broken up by a nervous gulp.

"You're not afraid?" exclaimed Blaze, swimming over to her husband and grabbing his shoulders.

"_What? Who ever said that?" _Sonic stammered through quivering lips before peering down into the bottomless abyss below. "_Nah, I'm damn near pissing myself out here, but y'know what scares me far more than a little dip in the ocean ever could?" _

The feline felt two gloved hands caress her shoulders, her face warming as she lovingly locked eyes with her spouse through the distortions of their masks.

"_The thought of ever losing you, or not being able to see our kids again."_

A powerful rush of water snapped the couple back to reality as their eyes darted to the side. The sharks weren't ready to quit, sailing in again, mouths agape. The couple released each other and swiveled to face the metal assailants.

"Sonic, can you move alright?" a frantic Blaze asked.

"_Well, I may not be able to swim, but this should do just fine!" _mused Sonic, curling and shooting upwards before slamming down onto the skull of the left shark. Its mouth was forced shut as its eyes momentarily flickered, before returning to their glowing crimson.

As he left his rounded state, Sonic peered down at his wife as she gracefully dodged her assailant. It sped right past her, veering just in time to avoid striking the hull of its creator's ship.

"_Sonic, Whispy and I are on your way out, and Vec's gonna try and finish what Blaze started." _

"You got it, Tangle!" replied Sonic before rolling up and dodging another charge. He retaliated by hurling himself into the shark's side, denting it's armor. "Ow!"

"_What's the matter, Sonic?" _asked the hedgehog's concerned, but preoccupied spouse.

"That one hurt more than normal," he groaned, unfolding to rub his arm. "And I haven't been this winded by a little exercise since I first started running."

"_It's the pressure, Sonic. It's having similar effects on me too. Just try and hold on until we can get inside." _

Acknowledging his wife's command, the king turned back to his current threat. "Ok Sonic, just don't think about the water…" He repeated to himself as he prepared to launch another homing attack.

"_Whispy, you help out Blaze, I've got Sonic!" _commanded Tangle, breaking away from her wife and swimming upwards.

"Okay."

Whisper jetted forward, her Wispon glowing blue. As the shark charged its target, she slammed it atop the head, forcing its jaw shut and sending it veering downward before Blaze had a chance to dodge.

"_Miles, are there any weak points on these things?" _asked Blaze.

"_Nothing critical, but the joints of robots like these are always weak points." _

"_Got it." _replied Blaze, turning to face her wolfy ally. "_Whisper, if I can distract this thing; get it to move in a predictable path. Could you land a shot?" _

"Mhmm," the wolf hummed in reply, giving a confident nod.

"_Good. Go for the tail joints if you can. I'll lead it away!" _The pyrokinetic queen weaved through the water, quickly being pursued.

The Wispon transitioned to its pink sniper mode and sprouted its scope. Peering into it, Whisper immediately noticed she'd have to compensate for the distortion of the mask and water. Adjusting her aim, she quickly located her target, and _its_ target. The scope zoomed in further, guided to its target, the joint connecting two sections of the shark's tail, by its skilled user. The wolf's steady hand prepared to pull the trigger back, but before she could take the shot…

"_Whisper, you're gonna have to be quicker than that!" _Blaze announced as the shark whipped to the right, disrupting Whisper's aim.

The shark had an almost set interval between passes, and Blaze had no choice but to dodge when it reached her. Whisper had a small window of opportunity. Furrowing her brow, she focused once more.

The tail was in her sights, pumping back and forth as it propelled its owner forward. All that was a perfectly timed pull.

Just as Blaze prepared to dodge once more, a flash from Whisper's direction caught her eye. A pink bolt tore through the water at barely-visible speeds, striking the rear of the shark. It wasn't the flashiest impact, but it did the trick.

"Excellent work, Whisper!" Blaze beamed as the shark instantly lost all its torque, powerless to prevent itself from slowing to a crawl with the loss of its only propulsion. Its momentum failed, mere meters in front of Blaze, its teeth gnashing in vain.

Another metallic ring echoed through the water. Blaze spun around and looked up to see Sonic recovering from another attack on his own enemy. "I'm going to go help Vector, you go take care of the second shark."

Whisper nodded, taking off toward the second shark and speaking into her mask.

"Distract it."

Much like before, Sonic easily dodged out of the way and bashed the metal shark. Before it could recover, a grey, striped tail wrapped around its midsection.

"_One distraction, comin' right up!" _cheered the lemur on the end of the appendage, tightening her grip on the shark. Its teeth gnashed, its body struggling against the lemur's grip. Tangle grunted as it began to slip free of her still-tired tail. "_Do it now, Whispy!"_

Not wasting a second, Whisper peered back into her pink Wispon's scope and locked onto the shark's tail joints. It thrashed in vain as another pink bolt surged toward it, severing its only means of propulsion. Doomed to the same fate as its twin, the shark was freed from Tangle's grasp, only to begin helplessly plummeting into the ocean below.

"_Woohoo! Nice shot, babe!"_

The wolf smiled timidly. "_Thanks."_

Soon, Miles and the others left the Whirlpool II behind. Swimming up to join Blaze and Vector at the Megalodon's hull.

"How's it coming?" asked Miles.

"_Progress has been slow, but it should be just about…" _Blaze began, her hand continuing to melt through the hull before it quickly thrusted forward. "_Done!" _Her palm punched into the Megalodon, immediately recognizing the sensation of air and decreased pressure. With a grunt, she withdrew and beckoned to Vector and Sonic. Immediately a vortex of water poured into the opening. "_Now it's up to these two to widen the gap."_

"_Oh, it'd be my pleasure," _Sonic grinned, punching his palm before rolling up and sailing toward the gap.

The hull of the megalodon proved no match for a series of spindashes and punches from the team's heavy hitters, and Soon, the group was inside. As Blaze boiled the water away from her exterior and used her now-unrestrained powers to seal their entrance, the speedy monarch yanked off his mask and madly dashed around the cylindrical corridor.

"Oh solid ground, how I missed you!" he cooed, his body pressed up against one of the red walls.

The feline finished her work, turning to face her king with an entertained sigh. "Yes, honey. You're safe now."

"You're darn right I am, thanks to you!" Sonic cheered, leaving the wall and zooming up to meet his wife. Without warning, he placed an excited peck on her lips.

Before a surprised Blaze's blush could fade, the team leader summoned her hammer. "Remember, everyone. We may have gotten in, but that's only half the battle. We've still got to carry out the rest of our mission."

Sonic quelled his excitement with a deep breath. "Right."

"_Half the battle?!" _Team Freedom frantically looked around for the source of Eggman's electronicized voice, eventually focusing on a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling. "_Half doesn't even _begin _to describe what's in store for you!"_

"Eggman!" Blaze snarled, her hands heating up.

"_The one and only. Why don't you and your furry friends come try and stop us? I'm sure you'll find our welcome mat to be-"_

A powerful fireball collided with the ceiling, promptly incinerating the speaker. Blaze lowered her hand, dousing her palms as she simmered down.

"I've had enough of those obese fools' blabbering to last a lifetime," she seethed.

"I second that," Vector jeered, igniting his wrist guards.

Sonic sped to the side of Blaze and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, confidently grinning around to his group of friends. "Well then, how about we go shut 'em up for good?"


	7. Flare

A nautical creak echoed through the pipe-lined, crimson and black halls of the mighty Egg Megalodon as three pairs of feet clanged against its metal floor.

"Vector, look out!"

The crocodile at the head of the pack directed his gaze ahead, where a battalion of robots had just rounded the corner. Upon the bot at the front turning its head and spotting them, it drew its weapon along with its allies as they stomped to face their targets.

"Don't give 'em time to fire their weapons!" ordered Vector. Not breaking his stride, he clenched his fists as his blue bracelets illuminated, revealing his pair of wrist guards. "Get behind me, you two!"

Amy and Charmy darted behind Vector and continued onwards, just in time for the first energy bolt to bounce harmlessly off their leader's wrists. A few more projectiles were reflected before Vector got within striking distance.

"Alright, let's get 'em!" Charmy chanted, darting out and nailing a bot to the right with a kick. It faltered and stumbled onto its back foot, losing grip on its rifle's trigger. The bee refused to let up, winding up another attack. A second kick knocked the robot on its back and weakened its grip just enough to where Charmy could snatch the weapon away.

Flying overhead and whipping around to face the downed adversary, Charmy placed his hand on the clunky weapon's trigger and grunted as he trained it on his enemy's head. "Let's see how you like it!" In a flash, a powerful bolt exited the barrel and struck the robot's head. Sparks flew as the tearing of metal quickly ended in the robot being rendered inoperative.

Meanwhile, Amy was already hard at work, allowing her inner fire to burn bright as her hammer carved through its second target, severely damaging it. "Take this you bucket of bolts!" The seething woman brought her hammer straight down on what was left of the robot, flattening it like a tin can. She smirked in satisfaction as the machine stumbled momentarily before falling backwards.

A bolt barely skimmed by Vector's head as he pounced on his own target, fist drawn back. "Is that the best you've got?!" The croc's fist shot forward, snapping the robot's gun in half and caving in its midsection.

In what seemed like mere moments later, the remains of robots lay scattered across the intersection floor. Vector sighed in exertion, turning to his teammates behind him. "Well, how was you guys' warmup?"

"Heh, not gonna lie. I kinda missed swinging this thing around," Amy admitted, brandishing her hammer and swinging it over her shoulder.

"And I forgot how terrifying you can be when you get fired up!" Charmy piped, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. "Remind me not to piss you off!"

"Hmph!" grunted the smug hedgehog.

Vector crossed his arms, his grin immediately fading "Alright guys, stretching's over. What's the next objective?"

"Well, I may not be nearly as good as Miles…" Amy began, allowing herself to lean on her hammer's handle. "But I bet if you get me to a computer terminal, I can find Espio!"

"Just uh… don't smash it if you get frustrated," teased a sheepish Charmy.

Amy groaned and crossed her arms. "Ugh, what do I look like to you, a teenager?"

As the bickering simmered down, Vector strode over to a downed robot's intact rifle and scooped it up before turning back to his team. "So get Amy to a terminal then? Sounds like a plan."

"Heh, gotta say, boss. That rifle there's not a bad look for ya'." grinned Charmy.

"Yeah, I'm not minding it myself. It should prove pretty darn useful if we encounter more of those bolt-for-brains!" replied the croc, turning over the weapon in his hands and taking a pretend aim before lowering it to a carrying position.

Amy stood straight once more, swinging her hammer back over her shoulder and pointing down one of the corridors. "Maybe the direction those bots came from would be a good start. They're gotta be protecting _something_, right?"

"Hm… not a bad idea," Vector agreed, smirking and narrowing his eyes down the corridor. "Alright team, let's find the computer room."

**XXXX**

"Woohoo!" an excited lemur cheered, bouncing forward on her tail and thrusting her hands up. "That was almost too easy!"

The quiet wolf running on Tangle's right turned to her and brought a finger to her lips. "Shhh!"

"Oh right, secret mission and all that," Tangle replied, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Woohoo, that was almost too easy!"

"Too easy…" Whisper muttered to herself, her grip on her wispon tightening.

"According to that map I downloaded earlier, Blaura, Dash and Sonash should be housed one more floor down and a few rooms away from there," began Miles, making a few gestures on his teched-out wristwatch and prompting its blue display to zoom in on their current location. He nodded confidently as his eyes traced along the illuminated path. "If we continue ahead, there should be a ladder. I wouldn't trust those elevators considering where we are."

"Yeah, for all we know those two bozos could just…" Tangle began, her eyes widening and teeth clenching. "Trap us in there, with no air…"

Whisper gazed concernedly at her wife. Recalling the lemur's claustrophobia, a few words of comforting assurance tumbled out of her hushed mouth.

"Take a right."

Following Miles' order and turning with the rest of the group, Tangle looked back to her wolfy companion with a warm smile. After turning to make sure Miles was occupied, she mouthed the words "thank you" back.

Following a few more direction changes, and a swiftly concluded battle with a squadron of guards, the team stopped at the end of a corridor. "Alright guys, this should be it," the two-tailed leader pointed to a dome-like hatch in the middle of the floor.

As Miles bent down to unscrew the hatch, Tangle's breathing ceased. Her body went stiff as a board and her tail went jagged as her wide eyes stared down at the closed hatch. After a few moments, she managed to open her mouth. "W-we have to go… in there?"

"Yep, safest way down!" Miles replied, back still turned.

The trembling lemur resorted to hugging herself, her tail wrapping around her as she tried to take in a deep breath. After several failed attempts, she felt a gentle hand come to rest on her shoulder. She turned to see her wolfy wife staring back at her in concern. Her eyes were open.

"It'll be alright."

With her shaking slowing and her nerves calming, Tangle turned to face Whisper with an uncertain, but thankful smile. Her chest was finally able to fully rise and fall as she placed her hand on the wolf's.

"Thanks, Whispy."

"And here we… go!" Miles grunted, throwing open the hatch as it creaked in response.

Peering down the hole, the group saw a deep, narrow shaft with several periodical, circular openings on one side. On the opposite side, an army of rungs was seemingly welded into the wall. Tangle shivered a bit and quickly found her wife's arm around her.

"Well, this won't be fun, but it's the best we've got," shrugged Miles, stepping forward and lowering himself in with both arms along the rim before grabbing the rungs. He looked back up at the married couple with a raised eyebrow. "You coming, ladies?"

"Mhmm…" Tangle replied weakly, stepping forward and following Miles' lead. She tucked in her tail as best she could to fit through.

Soon, all three teammates were inside the shaft. To Tangle's relief, Whisper hadn't closed the hatch behind them. Another nautical creak echoed all the way down through the narrow metal tube as the Megalodon adjusted itself, causing its angle to waver ever so slightly.

"Hngh!" Tangle winced, ceasing her descent and clinging to the bars for dear life. "No Tangle, it's alright. This'll all be over soon," she reassured herself, taking a deep breath before resuming.

"Just a little ways to go, hang in there guys!" Miles called above him.

"Alright…"

XXXX

A mighty inferno raged down the hallway, melting an entire battalion of bots in its wake. The flames' caster lowered her arms, exhaling calmly as her intense glare softened.

"Woah honey. Lookin' hot!" teased Sonic, playfully wrapping his arm around his fiery queen. "Just don't waste all your energy before we get to tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber, alright?"

Blaze stepped forward, her hands still smoking at her sides. "Oh don't worry about that, Sonic. I'll find all the energy I need when that time comes."

As the couple walked past the pile of half-melted, disabled robots, the metal behemoth creaked once more. "Hehe, still trying to forget we're in an underwater tin can right now…" the apprehensive hedgehog shivered.

"We'll be fine, Sonic. This vessel is huge, and besides…" Blaze began, crossing her arms and peering back at her husband with a warm smile. "You know I'd swim you to safety if anything happened."

Feeling a pang of reassurance, Sonic caught up to his wife's side as the two continued onward. For a long while, nothing but the clank of their feet against the hard, lifeless floor and the ambient nautical noises of the ship occupied the corridor. A series of twists and turns led to them climbing up a ladder similar to the one Tails' team had encountered.

"This is exactly what we needed to get closer to the top!" Blaze said with a hint of excitement as they continued to scale the rungs.

"Man, talk about 'exactly what we need'!" smirked the devious hedgehog beneath her, looking up at her as she climbed above. "I didn't know this lil' vacation of ours would have such great views!"

Blaze's climbing faltered for a moment. Her face flushed a light pink as she glanced down at her husband before quickly shaking her head and returning to her task. "Oh shush, Sonic."

"Hehe…"

As they reached the top of what the shaft allowed, Blaze elegantly jumped back through the circular opening and landed on her feet.

The speedy monarch behind her cheered as he sped out through the opening in the wall and up next to Blaze. "Whew, slow climbing? Not my thing. But the views still weren't half bad," he teased, playfully nudging his wife, who in-turn crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, failing to conceal her blush.

"If you're finished, I believe we're nearing the top. The hallways are becoming shorter," Blaze pointed out.

"Right!"

Just as the couple resumed their journey, Blaze paused, her ear twitching. She twisted her head to the left as the sound of clanking metal drew nearer. She knew the sound by now, and soon Sonic had picked up on it too.

Sure enough, moments later the metal form of a squadron leader appeared past the corner of the next intersection, followed by its allies.

"Alright! More bot bashing?" Sonic sneered, trusting his fist out in front before turning to his fiery queen. "What was the score again, honey?"

The feline chucked and ignited her hands. "Hmph, we're tied. Seven to seven."

"Oh yeah… well we won't be!"

Sonic charged ahead, a fiery projectile from his spouse trailing behind.

XXXX

"Yo, Amy! I think I've got something!" called Vector, reaching an intersection and pointing down one of the hallways.

Amy scampered up with Charmy buzzing not far behind. She gazed down the corridor, seeing a red and black steel door fitted to the curve of the walls.

"That looks promising," Amy replied, striding up to the door with the team following behind. Eggman's trademark logo was plastered on the front, and a green access panel gleamed next to it.

The crocodile grunted and nodded in agreement. "Whatever's in there, it's probably important."

Charmy slowed his wings, planting himself on the floor before trotting up to the access panel and surveying its camera-like apparatus at the top and light outline of a hand beneath it. "Think you can get us in, Ames?"

"Well…" Amy trailed off, scratching her head nervously. "I'm not really that good with hardwiring. That's more Miles' thing, but I can tr-"

"I've got some hacking skills of my own," chimed Vector as he stepped back and cracked his knuckles.

Amy looked back at the croc in surprise. "Oh, Vector? I didn't know you… wait…"

"Stand back, you two!" Vector smirked, winding back his fist.

"Vector, wait!"

"Ha!"

Charmy darted out of the way, with Amy stumbling back and squealing in surprise as Vector charged the door, his fist cocked.

The sound of warping, snapping metal rang throughout the halls as the door proved no match for the croc's powerful blow. It flew off the frame and tumbled into the room, narrowly missing a round object at its center.

As the violent sounds ceased, Amy stared into the dark space, a blank stare on her face.

"Well?" smirked Vector, smugly crossing his arms.

"Hmph! You're lucky there wasn't an alarm system…" Amy muttered.

Vector shrugged his shoulders and strode past Amy into the room. "Well what would that've done? It's not like they don't already know we're here. Plus, what would they do, send more bots after us?"

"Hmph, fair enough," Amy conceded.

The room lights hummed on as the trio stepped in, illuminating an assortment of panels, blueprints, and parts. The pink hedgehog immediately began surveying the room for what they needed. A round table lay at the center with messily drawn schematics strewn all over it, almost entirely covering up the logo of the vessel's narcissistic owners.

Charmy took interest in the assortment of drawings and flew up to the table. "What is this, some sorta evil laboratory?"

Amy rubbed her chin contemplatively as she leaned on her hammer. "Hmm… a place like this is bound to have a-"

"Yo, is this what you're looking for?" chimed Vector, pointing over to a small screen with a keyboard indented into the wall below it.

Amy's eyes lit up. "Oh, nice find Vector. That looks perfect!" The croc backed away from the terminal, giving Amy space to trot up to the keyboard and lean her hammer against the wall. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a rectangular device and cable. "Kinda small considering the Eggmen like their faces to be as big as possible wherever they can be, but it'll do. Hopefully this thing still works after being soaked and underwater..."

"So, you can do it then?" Vector asked.

Amy didn't break eye contact with the computer screen as she began tapping away. "Well, we'll have to see how sophisticated those two's security is. But I imagine a simple map wouldn't be that well-guarded."

As Vector nodded in understanding and stood silently, allowing Amy to do her work, Charmy was still occupied over at the schematics table. Ambient nautical noise and electronic hums were joined by the shuffling of papers as he continued to look through the assortment of documents. He quickly realized that most of them were simple scribbles or scrapped projects. Eventually, though, one caught his eye.

"Woah, this looks a lot like the ship we're on!" the bee exclaimed, picking up his latest specimen and holding it up to the light, rotating it every which way. "Must be an early plan for this place!"

Vector simply grunted and nodded, with Amy still typing away. "I think I'm getting close…" the focused hedgehog announced.

On the verge of giving up due to lack of finding anything else interesting, Charmy gave an unenthused groan and tossed the Megalodon blueprint back onto the pile. It drifted onto the table, moving another paper full of meaningless scribbles out of the way in the process. Just as Charmy turned to fly over to his teammates, a hint of red caught his eye.

"Huh? What's this?"

"Something the matter, Charmy?"

Vector's inquiry went unanswered as the curious bee turned back around and grabbed the red paper from beneath a few others and held it up. Giving it a quick scan, his eyes went wide. "Uhh… Vector? You may wanna take a look at this."

"And… got it!" Amy cheered, tapping her navigation device in victory as the downloaded schematic appeared on its screen. "With this, we'll find Espio in... no time?" Amy cut off her celebration prematurely as she noticed Vector had joined Charmy in the center of the room, and was staring at a red piece of paper.

"Yo, Vector. You alright?" Amy asked.

"Not if this thing's been built to completion, I'm not," the concerned croc replied, tightening his grip on the paper.

"Why, what is it?"

"Not good."

The worried hedgehog strode up and peered over Vector's shoulder, eyeing the paper and its contents. "Oh…"

"Mhmm," was all the croc responded with.

"You don't think Sonic and Blaze are going to run into that thing, do you?" worried Charmy.

"If they run into the doctors? They just might," Vector began, returning his gaze to the top of the paper, where an alarming name was scribbled in bold letters. "And with a name like "Egg Vanquisher", it can't be pretty…"

XXXX

A gasping lemur excitedly tumbled out of the ladder shaft and onto her already-exited wife, knocking her to the ground.

"Ahh… thank goodness! Open space, how I missed you!" Tangle breathed.

"Mmmm…"

"Huh?" Tangle's attention snapped to the groaning wolf she'd pinned to the floor. "Oh, sorry babe!" the lemur scrambled off of her wife and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as Whisper scrambled to her feet, her cheeks rosy.

"S'okay. You don't like tight spaces."

"Y'got that right!"

Miles climbed out of the shaft and peered down at his watch. A smile creeped onto his face. "Looks like we've only got a few more turns to go!"

A proud Tangle puffed out her chest and pointed forwards. "Well then, there's no time to waste, is there?"

"Nope! The sooner we can get Sonic's kids to safety, the sooner we can leave this nightmare behind us," replied Miles, scampering forward with the two women instinctually following.

The trio trekked through the belly of the beast, propelling themselves ever closer toward its most precious cargo. Their resolve strengthened and their pace quickened with every step as the red dot on Miles' watch inched ever closer to their highlighted destination.

"Alright, the holding cells should be just around this corner, get ready!" the fox leader chanted.

"I hope there are some bots to bust!" Tangle sneered, rotating her arm with a smirk.

"Oh indeed, there are! Unfortunately, I think it's the bots that'll be doing the busting!"

As the trio rounded the corner, the origin of the smug, electronic voice was made clear. Peering down the hallway, Miles' statement was proven true. Along the sides of the square hallway sat a collection of holding cells, with one of them appearing modified. Standing in the way of the cell was a squadron of four combat bots, with a pair of small, smug looking bots behind them.

"Orbot, Cubot!" Miles snarled.

"In the… metal?" Cubot quipped back.

Tangle stomped forward and pointed an authoritative finger. "Where are the kids?"

"Heh, right in this cell. Not that it matters. You won't be getting to them regardless," bragged Cubot, pointing at the enclosed room with his thumb.

A slap from his metal accomplice sent Cubot's head spinning. "You idiot! You weren't supposed to tell them that!"

"Well it's not like it matters! We've got insurance!" replied the yellow automaton, grabbing and turning his head back into place. He glanced up at their team of robot bodyguards before pointing to Miles and the gang. "Get 'em, guards!"

The robots responded by brandishing their weapons and marching forward.

"Pfft! Really? We've trashed a bunch of these things already! Let's get 'em, Whispy!" Tangle cheered, readying herself as Whisper replied in-kind by raising her Wispon, its exterior turning pink.

The scrappy lemur dashed forward, using her tail to thrust herself out of the way of an incoming blaster bolt before plowing herself into the nearest bot and knocking it to the floor. She snatched its weapon away with her tail and lobbed it at the next target.

Whisper's weapon flashed green, projecting a matching shield in front of her to block incoming fire as she approached. With a short break in the assault came the opportunity for retaliation, and soon, Whisper's weapon had turned back to pink and shot out a pair of buzz saws.

"Uh… Orbot?" Cubot groaned, watching as the pair of projectiles cut two of his bodyguards in half, and the lemur picked up one of the others and slammed it into its ally.

"This doesn't exactly seem to be going as planned…" replied the round accomplice, hesitantly lifting a finger as the remains of a robot fell to the floor and skidded over to him.

"It is for us!" Tangle smirked, turning away from the mangled remains of the two henchmens' bodyguards and striding to them, her fist in her hand.

"I… we, you see…" Orbot stammered as the furry trio closed in on them.

"Give up, you two," Miles plainly demanded.

"Hah! As-if!" Cubot bragged, pointing toward the sealed cell. "This thing's sealed tight, and only _we _have the access codes to get in! Wouldn't wanna harm the kiddos by breaking the glass now, would we?"

Miles peered inside the dull, grey room, eyeing three pods, each with one crying child inside. His brow furrowed as he observed the assortment of mechanical instruments attached to the pods and the ceiling.

"What're you doing to them?" the fox snarled.

"Nothing! _For now_," Cubot teased.

"Cubot, you idiot! You might not want to rile them up right about now!" Orbot whispered to the cubal bot.

Tangle took front and center, an annoyed glare on her face. "I'll tell you what. How's 'bout you open the cell and I don't turn you into your friends over there!"

"Hah! No way!"

"Cubot, shush!"

"Why you-" Tangle was cut short as she felt a powerful hand grab her shoulder and thrust her to the side. She glanced back at its owner; Her wife, looking far from happy.

"I'll take care of it," seethed Whisper, stepping forward and lowering her wispon to her side.

"What's she possibly gonna…" Cubot found himself trailing off as Whisper's weapon illuminated blue, a hammer sprouting from the orb at the center.

"Give. Them. Back."

Whisper's eyes opened to reveal a deadly glare unlike the two small machines had seen before. Her grip on her wispon tightened as she bared her fangs and took another step forward.

The ability to gulp was beyond Cubot's programming. "Y-you wouldn't risk harming the little ones!" He cupped his hand, rotating his head to the side to whisper to Orbot. "Would she?!"

"Want to find out?" seethed the wolf.

The pair of bots hovered backwards, quickly finding themselves up against the metal wall. "W-wait!"

Whisper paused her advance at the sound of Orbot's desperate voice.

"Six six one nine!"

"Check the code, Tangle."

"Right!"

As Whisper stood over the pair of bots, ready to go back to square one if the code was fake, Tangle scampered over to the panel above them and punched in the numbers. A green light lit up on the screen, accompanied by an approving mechanical buzz. The lemur backed up next to Miles as the glass shielding the cell shot upwards.

"Well well, looks like you guys weren't lying after all," mused a smug Tangle. "Good going, babe!"

Whisper looked back to her wife, nodding in appreciation before turning back to her potential prey. "Leave."

"Let's go Orbot, I'd rather deal with Eggman. He's used to us messing up by now!"

"I second that!" Orbot exclaimed, following his accomplice as he scrambled away.

As the scared bots disappeared around the corner, Tangle sashayed up to her wolfy wife, who'd disengaged her wispon. "Dang, Whispy. I forgot how scary you could be when you really try!" she began before wrapping her arm around Whisper's midsection and leaning into her ear. "It's pretty hot."

Miles ignored the devious lemur and her blushing companion and strode forward into the cell. Immediately, he noticed that the babies seemed to be balling their eyes out, but there was no sound.

"Must be an anti-noise filter…" he began to himself, peering around the room and eventually locating a panel with a pair of green and red buttons on it. "This must be it!"

The fox slammed the button, prompting an electronic noise similar to the previous one. Immediately, the sound of infantile crying filled the room as the three pods hissed open.

"Kids!" Miles sprinted to the nearest pod and knelt down next to the sobbing form of Blaura. "I can't believe they held you like this!

Tangle and Whisper strode in just in time to see Miles ever so carefully scoop up the purple-clad child and cradle her against his chest. "Shhh… it's alright, Blaura, Uncle Miles is here."

"Awww…" swooned Tangle, watching as Blaura's crying slowed, before stopping entirely. "Look at Uncle Miles, calming the widdle babies!"

Whisper beckoned for Tangle to follow her. She strode towards the other two pods and flicked her wispon's switch, turning it green and reactivating its shield function. She turned it to look like an upside-down umbrella and turned to her wife.

"We can put the kids in here."

"Good idea, babe!"

Soon, all three kids had been calmed by Miles and carefully placed in the makeshift cradle. The three heroes now stood outside the cell while the fox of them peered at his watch.

"Alright, we've got the kiddos! What's the plan, Miles m'man?" asked Tangle.

"I'm… not entirely sure," admitted Miles, still studying readouts on his watch. "The plan was to evacuate using the Whirlpool. But that plan's out the window."

"We could call Marine!" Tangle suggested with a grin.

Miles shook his head. "I had that thought too. But we're still pretty deep, and the jamming signal…" He paused, his eyes growing wide. "Wait, of course, The jamming signal!"

"Are you having one of those lightbulb moments?"

The excited inventor slammed his fist down into his palm. "If we can get back to an access terminal, I'm sure I can circumvent the jamming signal! We'll still be underwater, but at least we'll be able to let Marine know we succeeded and tell her to get in position!"

"And if push comes to shove, we'll just force those eggs-for-brains to raise the ship!" Tangle added.

Miles nodded in agreement, turning back to the precious cargo now suspended in Whisper's shield. "Don't worry guys, you'll be reunited with your parents soon enough. Uncle Miles promises!"

XXXX

"Woah!"

The speedy king of the Sol Kingdom stopped next to his wife at a mammoth door laying at the end of the spacious hallway. Sonic leaned in, squinting his eyes as he inspected the typically colored, steel-plated barrier with Eggman Nega's logo on the front. "Some door, huh?"

"Hmmm…" The stoic queen strode up to it, running her hand along its smooth, black frame. It dwarfed the two monarchs in height, appearing even slightly larger than the door on the Faceship, and something told her the green access panel off to its right side would be of no use to them. "Whatever's behind this door, it must be important."

"Well then, I'd say it's pretty important we smash a king-sized hole through this thing, don't'cha think?" mused Sonic as he prepared to rev up his signature attack.

"Mhmm," nodded the fiery feline.

"What do you say, hun? Wanna do the hubby a favor and weaken that door for me?"

The pyrokinetic queen was already at work. A soft sizzle emanated from the center of the door as the rapid warming of its surface from Blaze's hands prompted the metal to squeal in protest. Steam slithered out from the contact point, and the red steel began to emit a faint glow.

"Now we're talkin'!"

Only a few moments more and the surface was a bright orange. The increasingly-molten metal began to warp and drip down the door's exterior as Blaze's hands began to sink in.

"I'm not sure how thick it is. Do you think this is adequate?" asked the pyrokinetic queen over the sound of screaming metal.

"I'm sure it'll be no biggie!" replied the confident husband, rotating his arms and kneeling down as-if he was ready to run a race.

"Alright. I'll move away on three…"

"One…"

Sonic's eyes narrowed, the corner of his mouth folding up into a proud grin.

"Two…"

In an instant, his body blurred as he tucked into a rapidly spinning ball.

"Three!"

Blaze removed her hands and jumped to the side as her husband shot forward. He sliced through the air, headed straight for the seething, twisted metal of the weakened door.

In its compromised state, the steel barrier was no match for Sonic's Spindash. It screamed in protest as the blue ball carved straight through it and rocketed out through the other side.

"Woohoo!" cheered the speedy monarch as he uncurled and skidded to a halt on the crimson floor. With a satisfied smirk, he whipped back around and studied his handiwork, holding up his hands to form a fake picture frame with his fingers. "Eh… a little rough on the edges, but it should do."

Blaze backed up to study the Spindash-sized hole now sliced through the door. Reaching a silent conclusion, she nodded confidently. "Can you make it through, honey?" the feline heard her husband call from the other side.

"This will do fine!" she replied.

Upon getting a running start, the queen showed off her monarchal elegance. She jumped and streamlined her body, aiming perfectly for the opening.

Sonic watched in awe as his masterful spouse glided through the opening like a diver through the smooth surface of an undisturbed pool. Immediately upon exiting, she ignited her hands, shooting out jets of flames to level herself out before her feet tidily made contact with the floor and she skidded to a halt.

The impressed hedgehog flashed his wife a devious smirk. "Honey, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You should really show off more often."

"Me, show off?" the queen quipped back, playing innocent and placing a hand on her chest. "Certainly not. I'm just that good."

"Hmph!" Sonic grinned before turning around to study the massive room they'd just infiltrated. Its sheer size put its Faceship counterpart to shame, and the cylindrical exterior shared a similar color palette to the rest of the ship. The metal section barely extended above the frames of the room's four massive doors.

The blue blur gulped as he stared at arguably the room's most impressive feature, that being the giant glass dome that extended from the top of the wall all the way up to the ceiling, reinforced by a small circular disk at the top and two thick metal arches that scaled the side and split the glass into two sections. What Sonic was interested in, though, was what it was keeping out.

"Is that the… ocean?" the hydrophobic hedgehog stammered, weakly pointing up at the massive dome and eyeing the schools of fish and columns of bubbles visible on the other side.

"It appears so. This must be the top of the submarine."

"_It's called the Egg Megalodon, thank you very much! The least you could do is refer to your final resting place by its correct name!"_

Blaze seethed upon hearing the familiar sadistic voice of Eggman ringing through the room.

"Eggman! Show yourself!"

"_Or what? Will the little kitty cough up a hairball?" _the teasing pout of Eggman's future counterpart replied through the room's sound system.

The fiery feline growled, bearing her fangs as her fists clenched. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done!"

"_Yeah yeah, don't get your whiskers in a twist!" _taunted Eggman.

A metallic creak pierced the air as the Megalodon's mighty internals whirred to life. An already-nervous Sonic nearly stumbled to the floor a sudden jolt shook the room. "Uh… what was that?"

Blaze glared upwards, observing the faint light above growing brighter by the second. She looked down at her feet, noticing she felt ever so slightly heavier than normal.

"We're surfacing."

"Surfacing? That sounds like a dream come true! Why would the doctors wanna do that?"

"_Oh believe me, you'll wish you were six miles deep when you see the nightmare we've got in store for you, rodent!" _sneered Eggman.

As Sonic and Eggman's back and forth quips continued, the mighty vessel picked up speed. The ocean's surface surged ever closer, and soon, it was directly upon them.

"Brace yourself, Sonic!" Blaze called out, just as the top of the dome made contact with the sea air.

The Megalodon rocketed out of the water, its massive form shooting above the surface. After reaching the crest of its ascent, it began picking up speed in the other direction.

"Woah! It feels like I just lost about ten chilidogs worth of weight!" Sonic quipped as he struggled to maintain his footing. Blaze spread out her weight to stabilize herself.

The ship slammed back into the ocean, kicking up a huge wake as it worked to stabilize itself.

Sonic regained his footing. "Man, you'd think with how advanced this thing is they'd have made the ride a little smoother than that!"

Peering up at the cloudless sea sky and shielding his eyes from the glint of the overhead sunlight on the glass dome, Sonic donned a relieved smile. "Welp, we might still be on a giant death machine built by two psychopaths, but at least we're not underwater anymore!"

As Eggman's voice echoed through the loudspeakers once more, an ensemble of mechanical whirs and hisses filled the room. "_I'll take my compliments where I can get them, I suppose!" _The floor in the center began to shift, and the glass dome encasing the monarchs began to retract into the two metal arches.

Salty sea air invaded the previously enclosed space, filling Blaze's nostrils. The sound of ocean waves hammering the side of the metal behemoth of a ship replaced the mechanical ambience. The queen turned her attention to the floor, watching as a pair of thick doors rumbled open, slowly revealing a circular hole.

Sonic rapidly tapped his foot, rolling his eyes impatiently. "C'mon, haven't you learned any _new _entrances by now? This one's so played out!"

"_Hah! As-if this encounter will be anything like the last!" _Eggman snapped.

"Oh, oh! Let me guess, an _extra large _can opener this time?"

"_Silence, you repudent rodent!" _

"_I wouldn't get so worked up, Eggman," _entered Nega with a sneer. "_After all, they're the ones who were tricked into letting their arch enemies steal _all three _of their kids!"_

"Ugh… Nega!" Blaze snarled, baring her fangs. She raised her fists as they steamed and then roared to life.

"_Maybe they should've left more than one puny koala in charge of the brats!" _Eggman insulted.

The feline growled, allowing the fire in her palms to slowly spread down her arms. As her anger boiled hotter, she felt a caring hand grasp her shoulder. Instinctually whipping around with her hand raised to retaliate, Blaze froze upon seeing her husband staring back at her, a warm, yet concerned smile on his face.

"Hey, remember what we talked about. Don't let these clowns get to you."

Blaze lowered her hand and stared down at her flaming palms. Memories of their conversation at Freedom HQ came flooding back to her, and with a regretful stare back into her husband's eyes, she inhaled deeply. As her breath tumbled out of her lungs, the fires receded before fizzling out completely.

"Thanks, Sonic."

"Hey, what are hubbies for?"

"_Crushing!"_

Just then, another mechanical jolt shook the couple. Their attention darted over to the massive opening in the floor. The doors had finished their cycle, leaving a circular platform to ascend in their place.

Sonic and Blaze took ready stances as a hint of grey metal appeared beyond the lip of the hole and continued to rise, revealing more of itself. "_I hope you feeble furries are prepared this time!" _Eggman taunted as what appeared to be a giant knight's helmet came fully into view, followed by a pair of broad, yellow-armored shoulders.

Eggman and Nega's forms shone through the glassed-in viewing area of the head. The royals could barely make out their sinisterly grinning faces from the large distance. It continued to rise from the floor, now showing its chest. Two large golden rings circled its center, where a glass dome lied. Embedded inside the two rings were two sets of gems.

"The Chaos Emeralds!"

"The Sol Emeralds!" Sonic and Blaze shouted over each other.

The mechanical monster now towered above the couple, dwarfing the Egg Drencher and showing off it's beefy arms. Attached to its left arm was a domed shield, and in its right hand, a menacing looking lance with yellow and black spirals snaking up to the tip.

"_This is a special surprise we've been cooking up for months! I hope you're impressed!" _announced Eggman from his seat up top, just as the robot finished its ascent.

"Well I'll give you this, Egghead. It looks like less of a walking can opener than the last one!" a smug Sonic yelled back.

"It's… massive," uttered Blaze, tracing the robot's towering form from the top of its head to its metal boots.

"_Introducing the Egg Vanquisher!" _Nega boasted as the machine's right hand pridefully raised its lance to the sky. "_Fitting name for a killer of monarchs, don't you think?"_

Sonic cocked his head in amusement, shrugging his shoulders. "Eh, I'll give it a solid six outta ten!"

A soft groan from Nega's end preceded the bot stomping forward and holding its shield out in front, taking a fighting stance.

"Get ready!" Blaze commanded, igniting her hands and taking ready position beside her husband.

As the heavy mechanical clicks and creaks of the robots screeched to a halt, Eggman donned a sinister grin and leaned into his microphone. "_The game's finally coming to a close, relentless rodent! After all these years, Sonic the Hedgehog has finally met his match!"_


End file.
